CDC panel unanimously endorses Pfizer and Moderna boosters for all
A patient receives a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot at a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, on Sept. 29, 2021.
Emily Elconin | Reuters
The CDC’s independent panel of vaccine scientists unanimously endorsed Pfizer and Moderna’s boosters for all adults, one of the final regulatory steps before the U.S. can officially start distributing the doses.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to recommend the shots. The Food and Drug Administration authorized both company’s vaccine boosters for everyone 18 and over earlier on Friday, and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is expected to clear the doses soon after.
The panel’s recommendation would open up eligibility to everyone 18 and over in the U.S., but the group more strongly endorsed shots for older Americans by saying everyone 50 and over should get a booster. It previously said people over 65 and some other high-risk people should get a third shot.
Once Walensky signs off, tens of millions of Americans who’ve received their two initial shots at least six months ago will be eligible to get a third shot as soon as early as this weekend.
“As a clinician deep in the clinical trenches, I am really glad that we have clarity and streamlining of the recommendation so that all Americans can understand the vaccines that are recommended for them at this time,” committee member Dr. Camille Kotton said after the vote.
Efficacy data
Pfizer said its booster dose was 95% effective at preventing symptomatic infection in people who had no evidence of prior infection in a clinical trial of 10,000 participants 16 years and older, according to Dr. John Perez, vice president of the company’s vaccine clinical research program. Moderna didn’t submit its efficacy data for its booster, telling the panel it was still gathering the data.
While more than 195 million people are fully vaccinated in the US., Covid cases are rising in some areas as the effectiveness of the vaccines falls over time, the CDC’s Dr. Sara Oliver told the panel.
“Overall protection remains high for severe disease and hospitalization and waning (effectiveness) appears to be less pronounced for the Moderna vaccine compared to Pfizer,” Oliver said. However, she said evidence suggests there is a higher risk for a rare heart condition called myocarditis following Moderna’s shots compared with Pfizer, she said.
Providing clarity
Dr. Nirav Shah, director of Maine’s CDC and president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said the current guidelines are confusing and generate more work for state and local health officials who have to determine who’s eligible or not. The group wants the CDC to distribute the shots to everyone 18 and older to streamline the eligibility process, he said.
“Such a move has the benefit of easing pressure on state health department immunization program staff, who are now fielding a high volume of booster eligibility questions,” he told the panel.
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