Moderna and Pfizer have both developed new, Omicron-specific booster shots for fighting COVID-19. Both vaccines have gotten an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration this week and now await approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Moderna's new booster shot is for adults 18 and up and Pfizer's new booster for people 12 years old and older.

Doctors with Yale Medicine say shots could be headed for arms as soon as next week. Emergency medicine specialist Dr. Arjun Venkatesh says not everything in the new boosters is new.

"Half the shot is half a dose of the original booster, and that'll be protective against, not only original strains of COVID-19, but also future strains we see this fall that might look a lot like the old ones," said Venkatesh.

The other half is a reformulated vaccine specific to the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron variants.

The new formulation approved after clinical trials were performed on mice. Doctors say that's because it's not too different from what's already on the market.

The FDA says besides the age requirement, patients need at least two months since their last shot of the COVID-19 vaccine to be eligible for this booster. Venkatesh says regular boosters are likely be necessary for the foreseeable future.

"You get a flu shot every year, and it works pretty well. It's prevented major pandemics in the past. And I think getting into a headspace where we're going to look at something similar to that is pretty reasonable," said Venkatesh.