The United States authorized, Wednesday, September 22, the injection of a third dose of Pfizer-BioNtech anti-Covid vaccine for people aged 65 and over and for people with “Risk”, announced the United States Medicines Agency. The booster dose can be administered from six months after the second injection.
Between the ages of 18 and 64, those eligible for this third dose include those with “High risk” develop a severe form of the disease, including due to a “Frequent exposure” to the virus linked to the exercise of their profession or to their situation, according to a press release from the American agency (FDA).
This decision thus includes “Health workers, teachers and school staff, workers in supermarkets and those in homeless shelters or prisons, and others”FDA Acting Chief Janet Woodcock said in the statement.
Biden administration criticized
If the categories of population concerned therefore appear broad, this decision is despite everything a setback for the administration of President Joe Biden, who had announced in mid-August that the reminders could be administered to all American adults.
The government has since been widely criticized for appearing to anticipate the decision of the scientific authorities, and has been accused of causing confusion.
The FDA ultimately chose to follow the advice of its advisory committee. The latter, made up in particular of epidemiologists and infectious disease specialists, spoke out last week to limit the injection of a booster to certain categories of populations, in particular the elderly and health personnel.
A committee of experts from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) was also meeting on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the issue in turn. The health authorities must then publish detailed recommendations for the professionals supposed to administer these third doses, which must in particular specify what is covered by the term of “High risk”.
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