FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has approved the emergency use approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This approval will allow a single dose of booster shot to several high-risk populations.
Food and Drug Administration said that the booster shot will be given to those people who have got two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. The shot will be given after the completion of six months of primary vaccination.
The booster shot will be given to individuals 65 years of age and older and individuals 18 through 64 years of age at high risk of severe COVID-19. And those Individuals 18 through 64 years of age whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 puts them at high risk of serious complications of COVID-19 including severe COVID-19.
The individuals who have received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson) vaccines are not endorsed to receive a booster shot at the current time. The FDA and CDC will be studying documents on these vaccines to regulate the requirement for a booster shot in the coming weeks.
Although, CDC has also approved the booster shot for health care providers who meet the FDA’s eligibility criteria. Both the agencies agree that long-term care residents and staff should also receive the booster dose.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 22 million Americans are at least six months past their second dose of the Pfizer vaccine and about 50% of them are 65 and older.
