Several members said they didn't feel they could deny boosters to Moderna recipients after authorizing them for people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. .
Last month, the committee supported boosters for people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and are either 65 or older, under 65 with certain health conditions or at high risk for contracting COVID-19 because of their work.It is clear, Rubin said, that getting more people vaccinated with their first shots will do more to stop the COVID-19 pandemic than boosters.As a scientist with the FDA explained, a Moderna study of about 170 people who received a booster shot missed its goal of increasing immune activity fourfold against COVID-19.Members of the committee said the Israeli data convinced them that boosters of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines should be recommended, even though the Moderna data was limited. .More than 235 million Americans have received at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and 153 million have received at least one dose of Moderna.Committee members said they felt strongly about making boosters accessible to health care workers, grocery clerks and others who are potentially exposed to COVID-19 doing their jobs.It's not clear, Alroy-Preis said, whether a third dose will be enough to provide long-term protection, as happens with some diseases, or whether people will need to get periodic booster shots or vaccines that have been altered to address variants of the virus that causes COVID-19