Millions of US citizens are in line for a COVID-19 vaccine top-up after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended booster shots for certain at-risk groups.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The CDC said people aged 65 and older, and some adults with underlying medical conditions, would benefit from a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine.
The panel voted by a margin of 9-6 not to recommend boosters for adults aged 18 to 64 who live or work in institutions with high risk of contracting COVID-19, such as healthcare workers, teachers and residents of homeless shelters and prisons.
The guidelines voted on by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices still need to be signed off on by agency director Rochelle Walensky.
Following US Food and Drug Administration authorisation, the vote clears the way for a booster rollout to begin as soon as this week for millions of people who had their second dose of the Pfizer shot at least six months ago.
The CDC said that some 26 million people in the United States received their second shot of the vaccine at least six months ago, including 13 million aged 65 or older.
Last month, US President Joe Biden and eight top health officials said they hoped to start booster shots the week of September 10 for all people eight months after they had been vaccinated, saying emerging data showed immunity wanes over time.
But many scientists, including some high-profile FDA officials, questioned the need for the extra shots, saying the vaccine's protection against death and severe COVID-19 has remained strong.
A group of independent FDA advisers last week overwhelmingly rejected recommending a broader approval of booster doses.
More than 180 million people in the United States - or about 64 per cent of the eligible population - are fully vaccinated.
The United States is averaging about 128,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, off an August high of about 160,000.
The nation's recent wave of hospitalisations, primarily among the unvaccinated, may also have peaked, although the US was still recording some 1500 COVID-19 deaths a day over the last week, according to CDC data.
Some countries, including Israel and the United Kingdom, have already begun COVID-19 booster campaigns.
Australian Associated Press
