The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday endorsed booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans, opening a major new phase in the US vaccination drive against COVID-19.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky late on Thursday signed off on a series of recommendations from a panel of advisers, who recommended boosters be offered to people aged 65 or older, nursing home residents, and those aged 50 to 64 who have risky underlying health problems. The extra dose would be given once they are at least six months past their last Pfizer shot.
However, Walensky decided to make one recommendation that the panel had rejected.
The panel had voted against giving boosters to people aged 18 to 64 who are healthcare workers or have another job that puts them at increased risk of being exposed to the virus.
However, Walensky disagreed and put that recommendation back in, saying that such a move aligns with a US Food and Drug Administration booster authorization decision earlier this week.
The category she included covers people who live in institutional settings that increase their risk of exposure, such as prisons or homeless shelters, as well as healthcare workers.
The panel had offered the option of a booster for those ages 18 to 49 who have chronic health problems and want one. However, the advisers refused to go further and open boosters to otherwise healthy front-line healthcare workers who are not at risk of severe illness, but want to avoid even a mild infection.
Walensky decided to disregard the advisory committee’s counsel on that issue.
“As CDC Director, it is my job to recognize where our actions can have the greatest impact,” Walensky said in a statement late on Thursday night. “At CDC, we are tasked with analyzing complex, often imperfect data to make concrete recommendations that optimize health. In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good.”
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