Pfizer booster likely by September 20, Moderna may be delayed: Fauci

US President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser said US booster shots against Covid-19 are likely to start only with the vaccine by Pfizer and BioNTech SE, while the Moderna shot may be delayed.

“The bottom line is very likely at least part of the plan will be implemented, but ultimately the entire plan will be,” Anthony Fauci said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Fauci’s comments may lead to more clarity on the administration’s stance after Biden ran into resistance by medical experts who advise US regulators over what they view as political interference in the review process. While Biden has set a Sept. 20 target for kicking off the booster campaign, safety and efficacy data require signoff by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

Top medical officials, including CDC head Rochelle Walensky, warned the White House last week that regulators may only be able to act on the Pfizer shot, and possibly for just some groups of people, in the coming weeks, the New York Times has reported. Fauci said Moderna “is getting their data together” and may have submitted it by now. Any delay for Moderna would be “a couple of weeks — if any,” he said.  The company said Friday it had completed its submission to US regulators. 

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, criticised the Biden administration for “mixed messaging.” 

“We need clear guidance on these booster shots because it undermines the credibility of it,” Hogan said on NBC. “I guess they slipped and pre-leaked an announcement about booster shots with all three vaccines and then had to backtrack it and say you can only use Pfizer.”