FDA’s Vaccine Advisers Approve Booster Shot For Older, High-Risk Americans

On Friday vaccine advisers to the FDA decided not to recommend Covid-19 booster shots for all Americans but instead advised them for certain individuals. Emergency use authorization was granted for people 65 and older and for people at high risk of severe infection six months after they get their first two shots. During the meeting, members of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee expressed doubts about the safety of the booster in younger adults and teens and complained about the lack of data about the safety and long term efficacy of a booster dose.

Officials with the Biden Administration had previously announced a plan to administer the booster to the general population beginning today but later noted that it would need sign off from the FDA and CDC. The group of vaccine experts, immunologists, pediatricians, infectious disease specialists and public health experts voted unanimously in support of the authorization for the higher risk group and informally advised the FDA to include health care workers and others at high risk of Covid-19 exposure at work.