Advisory Committee Recommends CDC Approve COVID-19 Booster Doses for All Adults

Today, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously voted that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 booster doses should be administered to all adults 18 and older.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will take ACIP’s vote into consideration in deciding whether to expand Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the mRNA boosters to all adults.

This morning, the FDA authorized COVID-19 Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna boosters. If the CDC agrees, American adults could be eligible for another dose as early as this weekend. The FDA decided benefits expanding booster dose eligibility clearly outweigh known and potential risks.

ACIP met from 12 p.m. until after 3:23 p.m. EST to discuss available real-world and clinical data. Scientists from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech presented at the beginning of the meeting to provide the most recent updates on the efficacy and safety implications of their respective COVID-19 vaccines.

Pfizer-BioNTech also presented an update on the recent vaccine rollout to children 5-11 years of age. Almost 2 million first doses have been administered to children 5-11 years old, meaning approximately 6.2% of children have received a first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech.

Before this vote, ACIP only recommended Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna administer boosters to adults 65 years of age and older, people 18-64 who are deemed at high risk for severe COVID-19 disease (including the immunocompromised), and people 18-64 with jobs that put them at high risk for COVID-19 contraction.

Cases have been rising again for the last 3 weeks, partially due to breakthrough infections among vaccinated individuals as immunity gradually declines over time. ACIP’s vote to back the FDA decision is likely to encourage the CDC to do the same.