The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended Thursday that Americans aged 65 and older and those aged 50-64 and are at high risk from COVID-19 should receive a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially gave formal approval for a third booster dose for seniors, those at high risk of severe COVID-19, and those at high risk of exposure due to their occupation Wednesday evening. The ACIP recommendation is the last step before CDC director Rochelle Walensky can officially give a CDC recommendation, which will allow the boosters to become widely available to the recommended recipients.
The ACIP voted against the booster recommendation for those at high risk of exposure due to their occupation but largely agreed with the FDA’s approval.
Walensky is expected to approve the CDC’s recommendation of the booster dose right away.
After reviewing data from Pfizer and researchers from American agencies, the United Kingdom and Israel, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) recommended on Sep. 17 the FDA approve boosters for seniors and high-risk individuals. Pfizer originally requested approval for boosters to be given to all Americans aged 16 and over, however, VRBPAC members were concerned about the safety of the third dose for young men and for the necessity of a booster for those who are not in the specified categories.
The ACIP recommendation does have specifications for those under age 65, a booster is recommended for those aged 50-64 with underlying health conditions, while those aged 18-49 with an underlying condition should only get the vaccine “based on individual benefit and risk.”
President Joe Biden wanted the FDA to make boosters available to all Americans, even promising the public that the booster would be available to them Sep 20. The more restrictive approval by the FDA and recommendation by the CDC confirms that Biden jumped the gun.
Two top vaccine officials rendered their resignations from the FDA in recent weeks, citing pressure put on the agency by the Biden administration and the CDC to push the booster through the approval process. The officials, who were part of the decision to approve the booster, signed a letter in the Lancet last week agreeing that boosters may be beneficial for high risk groups, but not for the general population.
Even though there is disagreement within the research communities, some countries, including Israel have been administering booster doses for weeks.
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