US approves third dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for elderly, high-risk populations

In addition, people 18 years of age and older whose occupational exposure puts them at increased risk of serious complications due to COVID-19 are also eligible to receive a Pfizer booster dose.

The announcement means tens of millions of Americans are now eligible for a third shot when six months have passed since their second.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Said that a third shot of the vaccine can be given at any time, at least six months after a person has received their second shot.

“We believe boosters have an important role to play in addressing the continuing threat of this disease, as well as increasing global reach and further spread among non-vaccinated people,” Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Boerla said in a statement. With efforts to grow.” “Today’s FDA action is an important step to help the most vulnerable among us stay safe from COVID-19.”

The increase in virus infections caused by the delta variant comes with fears that the vaccine’s efficacy will fade as the weather cools.

Scientists are divided on the need for a booster. Real-world studies suggested that the efficacy of pfizer vaccine This has subsided somewhat this summer, particularly in preventing mild breakthrough cases, although it is difficult to separate weakened immunity from the effects of the highly infectious delta variant.

But other data has suggested that the shot provides permanent protection against hospitalization and death from serious illness, and some researchers have said that boosters may be put off for some time for most people.

CDC Review

The booster for Pfizer is currently being debated by a separate body of experts convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which can recommend further specifics about recipients.

For example, if obesity puts a person “at high risk of severe COVID,” that definition would cover more than 42 percent of the US population.

CDC may also have to decide which workplaces and other settings may cause “persistent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2.”

Some members questioned whether people who received the Moderna Inc. or Johnson & Johnson vaccine for their primary vaccination should receive a Pfizer booster, or whether they should wait to be matched with a supplemental dose of the shot they previously received. needed.

dosage debate

The use of the third shot to protect vulnerable people was supported by recent evidence from other countries. An Israeli study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that a third dose of the Pfizer vaccine can dramatically cut rates of Covid-related illness in people 60 and older.

Additionally, a study by Pfizer suggested that the efficacy of its first two shots waned within a few months, and that booster doses are an effective way to combat the spread of the virus and new variants.

Some critics have said that booster shots should wait until vaccination becomes more widespread globally. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has argued that uneven vaccine distribution will be the world’s biggest obstacle to ending the pandemic and recovering.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.