Thread by @MisterRan

WASHINGTON — A scientific advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration on Friday overwhelmingly recommended against approving a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for people 16 and older.

nytimes.com/live/2021/09/1…

2)

The committee voted 16 to 2 against a broader recommendation after an intense daylong public discussion on whether booster shots are necessary and if so, for whom.

The vote came after a sharp debate in which many of the panel’s independent experts,

3)

including infectious disease doctors and statisticians, challenged whether the data justified extra shots for so much of the population when the vaccines appear to still offer robust protection against severe Covid-19 disease and hospitalization, at least in the United States

Update :

advisers voted unanimously to recommend emergency use authorization of a booster dose for people 65 and older and those at high risk of severe Covid-19.

Members of the committee expressed doubts about the safety of a booster dose in younger adults and teens, and complained about the lack of data about the safety and long term efficacy of a booster dose.

The meeting and vote is just the start of the process. It's the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who will decide whether or not they should be used.

The CDC has scheduled a meeting of its vaccine advisers for Sept. 22 and 23 — and CDC must give its stamp of approval for any booster doses to be officially given.