On September 17, 2021, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rejected recommending Pfizer (now Comirnaty) booster shots for most recipients of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Instead, boosters are recommended only for people who are 65 or older, or at high risk of severe COVID-19, that received their second dose of the vaccine at least six months ago. The FDA has the final word on vaccine approvals, and while it does not have to follow the committee’s recommendations, it usually does. The FDA is likely to make a decision soon. An advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which sets vaccine policy and issues recommendations on who exactly should receive them, is scheduled to meet on Wednesday (September 22) and Thursday (September 23) to discuss booster shots. You can watch the webcast of these meetings here.
For more information on the FDA’s decision, listen to this podcast, watch this virtual FDA meeting, or read Pfizer’s announcement.