EU Drug Regulator Approves Pfizer Covid Vaccine Booster Jabs For People Aged 18 & Above

Studies showed that an extra dose of the vaccines increased people's ability to produce antibodies against the virus that causes Covid-19 in organ transplant patients with weakened immune systems.

Representational Image

New Delhi: The European Union's drug regulator, European Medicines Agency, on Monday gave its approval for administering booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for people 18 and older.

According to an AP report, the drug regulator has said that said the booster doses may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older.

The recommendations were issued after the agency's human medicine committee studied the data for the Pfizer vaccine that showed a rise in antibody levels following boosters given around 6 months after the second dose in people from 18 to 55 years old. Studies showed that an extra dose of the vaccines increased people's ability to produce antibodies against the virus that causes Covid-19 in organ transplant patients with weakened immune systems.

It also said that it supports giving a third dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine to people with severely weakened immune systems at least 28 days after their second shot. 

However, in its statement, the agency also said that there is no direct evidence that the ability to produce antibodies in these patients protected against Covid-19, it is expected that the extra dose would increase protection at least in some patients. These recommendations go to 27 EU countries, many have started administering booster shots. 

Various studies have also shown that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines remain strongly protective months after people receive their second dose, dramatically cutting the risk of hospitalisation and death.