An advisory group with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for older adults and other people with health risks.
Though the panel initially left out people whose occupations may cause them to frequently come into contact with the coronavirus, such as health care workers, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky on Thursday reportedly overruled the panel’s recommendations and endorsed third doses for people in that group, according to the Washington Post.
“I believe we can best serve the nation’s public health needs by providing booster doses for the elderly, those in long-term care facilities, people with underlying medical conditions, and for adults at high risk of disease from occupational and institutional exposures to Covid-19,” Walensky is reported to have said in a statement.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices originally on Thursday recommended third Pfizer shots for adults age 65 and older and nursing home residents, as well as adults between the ages of 50 and 64 with underlying conditions, six months after their first two shots. The panel also recommended that people between the ages of 18 and 49 with underlying health conditions weigh their own risks to determine whether to get a booster shot.
One group the panel initially left out of the recommendations were people whose living situation or occupations put them at frequent risk for exposure to the coronavirus, such as health care workers, teachers, grocery store workers, and senior living caregivers.
The panel’s initial recommendation was a departure from those of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which this week endorsed Pfizer boosters for adults 65 and older, people between the ages of 18 and 64 with higher risks of catching a severe case of Covid and workers “whose frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2 puts them at high risk of serious complications of Covid-19.”
But Walensky said the CDC must “recognize where our actions can have the greatest impact” and also endorsed boosters for workers late Thursday.
“At CDC, we are tasked with analyzing complex, often imperfect data to make concrete recommendations that optimize health,” Walensky is reported to have said in the statement. “In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good.”
The news comes as many senior living providers, including Louisville, Kentucky-based senior living operator Atria Senior Living, are gearing up to administer booster shots in upcoming flu shot clinics.
