US FDA Recommends Pfizer Covid Booster Shots For Over 65s, High-Risk People

An expert panel of US Food and Drug Administration has recommended that the Covid-19 vaccine booster shot should be given to a smaller group of people who are the most vulnerable to serious disease.

New Delhi: A panel of expert advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration has recommended that the  Covid-19 vaccine booster shot proposed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE should be given to 65 and older and those who are the most vulnerable to serious disease. The panel also recommended that the FDA include healthcare workers, teachers and others at high risk of occupational exposure to the Covid-19 virus. 

Dr. Ofer Levy, a vaccine and infectious disease specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital reportedly said, "It’s likely beneficial, in my opinion, for the elderly, and may eventually be indicated for the general population. I just don’t think we’re there yet in terms of the data." 

The FDA and Pfizer had initially proposed approving a booster shot for everyone 16 and older but the influential federal advisory panel rejected that idea out of concern saying that the the data to support such a broad application was thin. Over several hours of discussion, members of the Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts voiced frustration that Pfizer had provided little data on safety of extra doses.

The panel voted 16-2 against distributing the vaccines to Americans 16 and older. The panel later voted unanimously to support boosters for older Americans and at-risk people. According to media reports, the panel voted 8-0 in favor of an emergency-use authorization for people 65 and older or individuals at high risk of severe Covid-19.