FDA advisory panel declined to endorse authorization the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid booster shot for people aged 16 or older.
The 18 member group of influential experts was tasked with deciding if Pfizer’s latest clinical trials had provided adequate results that demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of their booster shot.
Unsurprisingly, the results did not make the cut, not even close.
The panel voted 16-2 to reject extra doses of experimental vaccine, citing insufficient data from incomplete clinical trials and the potential risk of heart inflammation – especially among young men.
BREAKING: An influential federal advisory panel rejected a plan to offer Pfizer booster shots against COVID-19 to most Americans. The 16-2 vote was a blow to the Biden administration’s effort to increase virus protections amid the contagious delta variant. https://t.co/CFhGFfdcml
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 17, 2021
The panel’s vote will now be weighed by the FDA to make a final decision on who will be eligible for the Pfizer booster.
The additional doses are being pushed because the original vaccine effectiveness has been fading quickly over time. Several studies have shown that people who have gotten the virus and then recovered – leaving them with natural immunity – are much better protected than those who are relying on the Pfizer jab.
In fact, one study that was conducted on 800,000 individuals showed that people who have taken both doses of the Pfizer jab are 13 TIMES more likely to have a breakthrough infection, and are at a “greater risk for Covid-19 hospitalizations.”