FDA advisers first rejected Pfizer's booster application -- but then voted to recommend a third shot for certain Americans

Pfizer got strong pushback on its request Friday after saying it has data showing that immunity wanes six months or so after people are fully vaccinated with two doses, and adding that a third dose at six to eight months restores that immunity.

Dr.

Disparity in the Covid-19 pandemic

The pandemic has impacted different populations differently, and people of color are bearing a heavy burden, according to new research.

Black people, those over 40 and people with pre-existing conditions were the most likely sufferers of long Covid symptoms, which impacted a third of the Covid-19 patients, according to a study by the Long Beach department of Health and Human Services in California.

The most common extended symptom was fatigue, followed by loss of taste and loss of smell, the team reported in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's weekly Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"The odds of experiencing symptoms 2 months after a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result were significantly higher among females, persons with at least one preexisting condition, and those aged 40--54 years," they wrote.

While the most vulnerable, they're also less likely to be vaccinated, according to the analysis.

While Covid-19 hospitalization and death are rare among children compared to adults, those kids who were hospitalized were more likely to be Black and Hispanic.

Black and Hispanic kids were also more likely to have a Covid-19-related condition called MIS-C -- multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children -- and Black children were more likely to be admitted to intensive care for it.

Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native children were more likely to die from Covid-19 than White children.

"Because children make up a significant share of the population and are more racially diverse than the rest of the population, equitable vaccination among this group is key for achieving an overall high rate of vaccine coverage among the population and may help to reduce disparities in vaccination rates more broadly," the report said.

Masks help block airborne transmission, study shows

Meanwhile, new research published this week indicates the Alpha variant of coronavirus spread more easily as people breathed or spoke but showed that even the simplest masks can greatly reduce transmission.

"Our latest study provides further evidence of the importance of airborne transmission," said Dr.