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- The FDA announced Wednesday that it has approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech boosters for Americans 65 and older and those at higher risk of serious illness from Covid-19, six months after they received their second shot. [FDA]
- A CDC advisory panel on Thursday gave most of the same recommendations. But it favored a more limited approach to third shots for essential workers and younger people who have underlying health conditions. [New York Times]
- Both agencies' booster endorsements are less expansive than President Joe Biden's initially announced plans. However, the recommendations still include tens of millions of Americans. The administration — and Pfizer — had argued that boosters would combat initial doses’ efficacy waning over time, especially given the highly contagious delta variant’s dominance. [NYT]
- Recent data suggests some efficacy waning for the Pfizer vaccine compared to the Moderna vaccine, although experts disagree on whether the difference is substantial. [Apoorva Mandavilli / NYT]
- The FDA’s panel of advisers found that available evidence overwhelmingly suggested that two Pfizer vaccine shots still protected most vaccinated people from serious illness, hospitalization, and death. [STAT / Helen Branswell]
- The Biden administration had planned a near-universal rollout of the booster on September 20. Some people, like those with severely weakened immune systems, have already received a booster, but the broader campaign has been put on hold. [CNBC / Jacob Pramuk]
- Regulatory bodies have not yet made recommendations on boosters for Americans who received either the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. [WSJ / Felicia Schwartz and Jared S. Hopkins]
- The people most at risk for serious illness, hospitalization, and death from Covid-19 remain those who are unvaccinated. [WP / Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach]