Pfizer and BioNTech will request authorization from the Biden administration to expand eligibility for their COVID-19 booster shots to the general population, multiple outlets reported on Tuesday.
The request could be filed as soon as this week, sources told the New York Times and Washington Post. Both papers reported that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is likely to grant the request, although it wasn’t immediately clear exactly how soon the approval process would be completed.
Pfizer spokesman Kit Longley declined to comment on the development when asked by the Post.
A key FDA advisory panel voted against authorizing booster shots for the general population in September, opting instead to recommend boosters for Americans over the age of 65, or otherwise at increased risk from COVID-19. That recommendation came after President Biden announced his administration would make booster shots of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines available to most Americans.
Since then, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have authorized booster shots for all three coronavirus vaccines in use in the U.S. — including Johnson & Johnson’s — for at-risk Americans. Recipients are also permitted to receive a booster shot made by a different company than their initial vaccine.
Almost 25 million Americans have received a booster shot since they became available, according to data from the CDC on Tuesday. Close to 80 percent of Americans over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, including 98.3 percent of Americans over 65.
Source: National Review
