The United States Food and Drug Administration approved booster shots of Pfizer's vaccine for individuals 65 and older, setting the stage for a fast distribution of the jabs against COVID-19.
The booster shot is to be given at least six months after full vaccination of the second dose, and the emergency use approval would include those most vulnerable to being severely ill, younger people with underlying health issues, and those whose jobs leave them at high risk, the FDA said.
The green light follows a guideline last week by the FDA's independent health and scientific councils that, while protection from immunization is effective, immunity potentiall drops after six months thus the need to replenish for certain high-risk individuals.
"The FDA considered the panel's input and carried out its own thorough evaluation of the submitted data to reach the decision," CNN quoted Dr. Peter Marks, chief of the FDA's vaccine unit, as saying in a statement.
The decision represents a rigorous and scaled back version of the Biden administration's broad proposal to administer a third dose to almost all American adults to add an extra layer of protection in the wake of the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
High-risk jobs include "health care personnel, daycare staff, teachers, grocery employees, and people in homeless care shelters or jail facilities, among others," acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said.
A Center for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee could vote Thursday on the use of a third job of the COVID-19 treatment, an agency official disclosed during a meeting, Wednesday.
The CDC must grant its final approval for any booster shots to be officially administered in the U.S.
The ongoing global health crisis is evolving, with new data about vaccine efficacy and safety becoming available every day," Woodcock said.
Third booster doses have already been approved for certain immunocompromised individuals, but not for the general American public.
However, more regulatory obstacles lie ahead before the distribution of booster shots can officially start.
Around 2.3 million people in the U.S. have already been given their third shots of the Pfizer vaccine, the CDC said.
