The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky overruled a panel of advisers and approved a booster shot for people ages 18 to 64 years who are health care workers or have another essential job that puts them at increased risk of being exposed to COVID-19.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster shots for the select group can start being administered in the US after CDC’s endorsement.
Earlier on Thursday, the CDC panel of advisers said boosters should be offered to people 65 and older, nursing home residents and those ages 50 to 64 who have risky underlying health problems. The extra dose would be given once they are at least six months past their last Pfizer shot.
However, Walensky decided to make one recommendation that the panel had rejected – covering frontline workers.
So she put that recommendation back in, noting that such a move aligns with an FDA booster authorization decision Wednesday.
In line with the recommendations made by a CDC advisory panel earlier on Thursday, the CDC endorsed the shots for Americans 65 and older, residents of nursing homes, and adults aged 18 to 64 with underlying health conditions.
But Director Rochelle Walensky disagreed partially from the panel, endorsing the booster shots for people who are at an increased risk of getting COVID-19 while at work or because of where they live. That could include healthcare workers, teachers, grocery store employees, and people who live in prisons or homeless shelters.
The panel recommended booster shots for those ages 18 to 49 who have chronic health problems and want one. But the advisers refused to go further and open boosters to otherwise healthy front-line health care workers who aren’t at risk of severe illness but want to avoid even a mild infection.
Hours after the panel voted 9-6 not to recommend boosters for those groups, Walensky overruled them.
“As CDC Director, it is my job to recognize where our actions can have the greatest impact,” Walensky said in a statement late Thursday, according to The Associated Press. “At CDC, we are tasked with analyzing complex, often imperfect data to make concrete recommendations that optimize health. In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good.”
Walensky noted her recommendation aligned with the Food and Drug Administration, which recommended on Wednesday that adults “in an occupational or institutional setting” that increases their risk of getting COVID-19 also be eligible for the shot.
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