Gottlieb says "prudent" to get started now on COVID vaccine booster approval

Washington — Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Sunday that it would be "prudent" to begin the process for federal authorization of Pfizer's booster shot for its COVID-19 vaccine, as the Delta variant threatens to prolong the pandemic.

Pfizer and BioNTech announced Thursday they are developing a COVID-19 booster shot, which could further protect people from all "currently known" coronavirus variants, including the Delta variant. According to the CDC, the Delta variant is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States, bypassing the Alpha variant.  Gottlieb said on "Face the Nation" that Pfizer is currently studying the booster, which would be a third dose of its existing its two-shot vaccine.Though the study isn't complete, Gottlieb said the data looks "very good." However, he said the process for receiving authorization from the FDA would be a lengthy one.