A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has unanimously recommended approving COVID-19 mRNA booster shots for adults aged 65 years and older and for individuals at high risk of severe disease, including healthcare workers.
The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee did not recommend that boosters be approved for the general public, saying it needed more data to make that decision.
The committee met Friday to review an emergency use authorization application from Pfizer and BioNTech for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine. The application sought approval for administering a booster dose at least six months after the second shot for people aged 16 or more years.
A poll of members showed unanimous support for including “healthcare workers or others at high risk for occupational exposure” in the emergency use authorization for a booster dose.
The FDA is not bound to the panel’s recommendations and still must weigh in on authorizing booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine. If the FDA approves the boosters, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday, will refine the recommendation on who should receive the shots.
The FDA released briefing documents ahead of Friday’s meeting indicating that the current vaccine still adequately protects against the virus. A CDC study released Friday found that the Moderna vaccine was more effective than the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines several months after vaccination but that all three were still highly effective at preventing hospitalization.
The Biden administration announced plans last month to begin rolling out booster shots to all eligible Americans beginning next week, subject to FDA review and CDC recommendations.
This article originally appeared on McKnightsSeniorLiving.com.
