FDA panel rejects broad use of COVID-19 boosters, approves extra doses for seniors, those at high risk

Dealing the White House a stinging setback, a U.S. government advisory panel on Friday overwhelmingly rejected a plan to administer Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots broadly to the American public, and instead endorsed the extra vaccine dose only for those who are 65 or older or run a high risk of severe disease.

The twin votes represented a heavy blow to the Biden administration's sweeping effort, announced a month ago, to shore up nearly all Americans' protection amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.

The nonbinding recommendation — from an influential committee of outside experts who advise the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — is not the last word. The FDA will consider the group's advice and make its own decision, probably within days. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to weigh in next week.

In a surprising turn, the panel voted 16-2 to reject boosters for almost everyone. Members cited a lack of safety data on extra doses and also raised doubts about the value of mass boosters, rather than ones targeted to specific groups.

Then, in an 18-0 vote, it endorsed extra shots for people 65 and older and those at risk of serious disease. Panel members also agreed that health workers and others who run a high risk of being exposed to the virus on the job should get boosters, too.

That would help salvage part of the White House's campaign but would still be a huge step back from the far-reaching proposal to offer third shots of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to nearly all Americans eight months after they get their second dose.

The CDC has said it is considering boosters for older people, nursing home residents and front-line health-care workers, rather than all adults.