U.S. COVID-19 booster debate moves to FDA vaccine advisory committee
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Thursday
July 07, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
THURSDAY, JULY 07, 2022
U.S. COVID-19 booster debate moves to FDA vaccine advisory committee

World+Biz

Reuters
17 September, 2021, 07:15 pm
Last modified: 17 September, 2021, 07:16 pm

Related News

  • 'US lie may hurt Bangladeshi RMG industry as well,' says China envoy
  • US senators call for close look at TikTok
  • Oil from US reserves sent overseas as gasoline prices stay high
  • Suspect in Chicago-area parade shooting charged with 7 counts of murder
  • US, Chinese foreign ministers to meet at G20 this week

U.S. COVID-19 booster debate moves to FDA vaccine advisory committee

The U.S. is planning a booster campaign for the week of Sept. 20, contingent on backing by the FDA and CDC

Reuters
17 September, 2021, 07:15 pm
Last modified: 17 September, 2021, 07:16 pm
A person receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a mobile inoculation site in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York, U.S., August 18, 2021. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado
A person receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a mobile inoculation site in the Bronx borough of New York City, New York, U.S., August 18, 2021. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado

The debate over whether Americans should receive a booster dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine moves to a panel of independent expert advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday.

While U.S. health officials, some other countries and vaccine makers have said boosters are needed, many scientists and vaccine experts disagree.

The FDA staff said in documents prepared for the committee this week that the vaccine Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) developed with Germany's BioNTech SE is still very effective at preventing severe illness and death and that the evidence is mixed on whether its efficacy declines over time.

Pfizer, which is arguing for broad use of a third shot, submitted data from an analysis of over 300 participants in its late stage clinical trial showing that the vaccine's efficacy diminished by around 6% every two months after the second dose, and that an additional shot boosted immunity.

The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will also consider data from Israel, which has been administering booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

It began offering a COVID-19 booster to people as young as age 12 last month, expanding a campaign that began in July for people over 60.

An analysis by Israeli scientists published on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine found that among 1.1 million people age 60 or older who had been fully vaccinated at least 5 months earlier, those who received a booster were less likely to be infected or become severely ill than those who did not get the third shot.

The Israeli Health Ministry said in documents on Friday that immunity against infection declined during July among all age groups, but particularly among people aged 60 and over who had been vaccinated in January.

Immunity against severe disease dropped in that older group, and such a decline may occur in younger groups aged 50 to 59 as well as 40 to 49, it said. The ministry also said the booster dose did not raise new safety issues.

The booster debate gained urgency as U.S. COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths surged due to the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus, mostly among the unvaccinated. But infections among fully vaccinated people have risen and they can spread the virus on occasion, mostly to unvaccinated people.

'LARGER POPULATIONS MAY TAKE LONGER'

Wall Street analysts see the additional shots ultimately getting approved for a broad population.

"We expect a potential positive FDA support for boosters for elderly ahead of Biden's rollout, but larger populations may take longer for broad support and approval," Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in an email.

Scientists say the strongest evidence for boosters is for older adults and other high risk populations.

"My guess is we are going to end up with a recommendation for booster doses for a certain subpopulation, such as adults older than 65," said Bill Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

More than 1.9 million Americans have already gotten a booster dose after the government authorized them for people with compromised immune systems, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The panel will vote on if safety and effectiveness data support approval of a booster at least 6 months after the second dose for people aged 16 and older. The vote is scheduled for between 2:25 pm ET and 4:45 pm ET.

Eight top health officials in the Biden Administration - including the heads of the FDA and the CDC - said in August they believe booster shots will be needed because emerging data shows that protection against COVID-19 decreases over time.

The U.S. is planning a booster campaign for the week of Sept. 20, contingent on backing by the FDA and CDC.

Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) has also asked for approval of a booster and released data on Wednesday showing that protection from its vaccine also wanes over time. That is not expected to be discussed at Friday's meeting. 

USA

COVID-19 booster debate / Covid-19 Booster Shot / USA / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • BPC looks for $2b as fuel stock depletes fast
    BPC looks for $2b as fuel stock depletes fast
  • Photo: Unicef
    Nearly 10% of global population affected by hunger last year: UN
  • Call money rate hits 5.48% amid rising cash demand ahead of Eid
    Call money rate hits 5.48% amid rising cash demand ahead of Eid

MOST VIEWED

  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain July 6, 2022. Photo: Reuters
    UK PM Johnson: I will not resign
  • British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons in London, Britain July 6, 2022. Photo: Reuters
    UK ministers, including new finmin, to tell Johnson to go
  • A general view shows the hemicycle as French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne delivers her general policy speech at the National Assembly in Paris, France, July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
    Cost of living a priority, French PM says, urging opposition to help vote reforms
  • Smoke rises after shelling during Ukraine-Russia conflict in Donetsk, Ukraine July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko
    Russian advance on Ukraine's Donetsk region thwarted so far, Kyiv says
  • A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) logo is seen at the gate of its office in New Delhi, India, November 9, 2018. REUTERS/Altaf Hussain/
    India cenbank acts to enhance foreign fund inflows, stabilise rupee
  • Photo: Unicef
    Nearly 10% of global population affected by hunger last year: UN

Related News

  • 'US lie may hurt Bangladeshi RMG industry as well,' says China envoy
  • US senators call for close look at TikTok
  • Oil from US reserves sent overseas as gasoline prices stay high
  • Suspect in Chicago-area parade shooting charged with 7 counts of murder
  • US, Chinese foreign ministers to meet at G20 this week

Features

The sea beach in Kuakata. Photo: Syed Mehedy Hasan

Five places in Southern Bangladesh you could visit via Padma Bridge

14h | Explorer
Genex Infosys Limited is the country's largest call centre with more than 2,000 seats and full-set equipment. Photo: Courtesy

How domestic demand made Genex Infosys a BPO industry leader

15h | Panorama
The OPEC+ group of 23 oil-exporting countries met virtually on Thursday. Photo: Bloomberg

OPEC+ did its job, but don’t expect it to disappear

1d | Panorama
Mirza Abdul Kader Sardar with AK Fazlul Haque, Chief Minister of Bengal, at Haque's reception at the Lion Cinema, Dhaka, 1941. Photo: Collected

Panchayats: Where tradition clings to survival

1d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Behind the story of 'Aske Amar Mon Bhalo Nei'

Behind the story of 'Aske Amar Mon Bhalo Nei'

4h | Videos
Is Donbas Putin’s next target?

Is Donbas Putin’s next target?

7h | Videos
Hajj Journey: it took more than one year to complete the Hajj

Hajj Journey: it took more than one year to complete the Hajj

8h | Videos
Photo: TBS

Cristiano Ronaldo looking for a new challenge

13h | Videos

Most Read

1
Photo: Collected
Africa

Uganda discovers gold deposits worth 12 trillion USD

2
TBS Illustration
Education

Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

3
Area-wise load shedding schedule will be announced: PM
Bangladesh

Area-wise load shedding schedule will be announced: PM

4
Padma Bridge opens up investment spree in south
Industry

Padma Bridge opens up investment spree in south

5
Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM
Bangladesh

Build Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway, relocate kitchen markets: PM

6
File Photo: BSS
Energy

India pulls out of LoC funding for part of Rooppur power transmission work

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
A customer checks a knife at a blacksmith’s shop at the capital’s Karwan Bazar. Knives and other Qurbani tools are in huge demand as the country prepares to celebrate Eid-Ul-Azha. Photo: Rajib Dhar

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net