Nov 20,2021:The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, signed off on the expanded eligibility on Friday evening after the US Food and Drug Administration broadened its authorisation of booster doses to all adults who had received their second shot of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna Inc vaccine at least six months prior.
Regulators had previously authorised boosters for all recipients of Johnson & Johnson’s one-dose vaccine, two months after their primary dose.
“Booster shots have demonstrated the ability to safely increase people’s protection against infection and severe outcomes and are an important public health tool to strengthen our defences against the virus as we enter the winter holidays,” Walensky said in a statement.
Most adults were already eligible for the additional shots, but fewer than 18% had received one, according to CDC data. But many public health officials felt the previous eligibility requirements were too complicated.
“The current guidelines – though well-intentioned and thoughtful – generate an obstacle to uptake of boosters. In pursuit of precision, they create confusion,” said Nirav Shah, a top Maine public health official and president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
“Our concern is that eligible individuals are not receiving boosters right now,” Shah said.
According to an agency spokesperson, the CDC stopped short of saying all adults should get a booster. For those aged 18 to 49, the agency said individuals may get the vaccine if they choose to.
The CDC also moved to further clarify recommendations for people aged 50 to 64, suggesting all in this age group should get a booster, rather than only those with underlying medical conditions that put them at risk.
The agency’s guidelines mirrored recommendations unanimously backed by a panel of CDC advisers earlier in the day.
