Pfizer Asks F.D.A. to Expand Booster Eligibility to All Adults
The New York Times
In a turnaround, the agency is expected to grant the request before the winter holiday season, giving access to all 181 million fully vaccinated people.
WASHINGTON — Pfizer and BioNTech asked federal regulators Tuesday to authorize their coronavirus booster shot for those 18 and older, a move that would likely make every adult in America eligible for an extra injection.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant the request, perhaps before Thanksgiving and well ahead of Christmas travel and gatherings. The prospect of all 181 million fully vaccinated adults in the nation having access to extra shots is a turnaround from two months ago, when an expert advisory committee to the F.DA. overwhelmingly recommended against Pfizer-BioNTech’s request to authorize boosters for all adult recipients of that vaccine.
At the time, several committee members raised doubts about whether young, healthy people needed boosters. But the Biden administration has been eager to offer extra shots widely since August, when President Biden announced that “the best way to protect ourselves” was for every adult to get a booster.
