US approves third Pfizer dose for people above 65, at-risk Americans

People over age 65 and adults at high risk of severe Covid-19 who have previously taken the Pfizer-BioNTech SE vaccine can receive a booster dose, the Food and Drug Administration said, opening a new and more controversial phase of the US immunisation campaign. 

The emergency-use authorization also allows boosters for people 18 and older whose occupational exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus puts them at elevated risk of serious complications. Booster doses can be given any time at least six months after a person received their second Pfizer shot, the FDA said in a statement.

The decision applies only to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, the agency said. Booster shots for recipients of the Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson vaccines haven’t yet been cleared.

Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the authorisation would allow people such as teachers and day-care staff, as well as health-care and grocery workers, to get the third shot. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to meet to make its own recommendations about who should receive the additional dose. 

The panel is likely to discuss guidance for physicians on how to administer the third doses, and to further explore questions about the broader aims of the vaccination campaign in the U.S., including whether the ultimate goal is to prevent coronavirus infections or to curb severe disease.