Pfizer asked the US Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday to approve booster doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for all people aged 18 and above.
Pfizer asks US FDA to have authorization of its COVID-19 booster shot. (Photo: Al Jazeera)
New Data from Pfizer-BioNTech
In a recently published article in The Hill, according to recent findings from major clinical research including over 10,000 completely vaccinated persons, a booster dose was over 95 percent effective against COVID-19 when compared to those who were fully vaccinated but had not gotten a booster dose.
In a press statement from Pfizer, it was stated that there were 5 instances of COVID-19 in the booster group, and 109 cases in the non-boosted group over the research period. The booster dose’s effectiveness was also constant across various ages, racial and cultural groupings, according to the business.
It can be remembered that in September, an FDA advisory council ruled against a recommendation that all adults get a booster injection, a setback to the Biden administration’s previous declaration of mass vaccinations, according to a published article in The New York Times.
Eligibility of the Booster Shot
However, since doctors worry that the vaccinations’ effectiveness would fade over time, the eligibility has been steadily expanded. People 65 and older, as well as those with underlying diseases or who work in occupations that put them at increased risk for COVID-19, are presently eligible for booster doses.
Those categories are already wide, causing some misunderstanding about who qualifies; a suggestion for all adults would be more straightforward. The booster issue has been tense, however, since the World Health Organization has advised wealthier nations to delay administering booster injections until more susceptible individuals in low-income countries have had their first vaccination jabs, according to a published report in CBS News.
Debate Over the Booster Shot
The Biden administration has maintained that this is a false choice and that it can aid other nations while still providing boosts to ensure that Americans are adequately protected. Part of the discussion concerning boosters for younger individuals has been around whether the objective is to avoid people from being hospitalized with COVID-19 or to prevent them from becoming ill at all, even if it is mild.
According to some doctors, there is no need for extensive boosters for younger individuals since the original doses of the vaccine are still holding up effectively against hospitalization or death. Meanwhile, Anthony Fauci, who is one of the specialists who has claimed that the objective should be to avoid any COVID-19-related sickness, an argument that supports universal booster doses.
