Pfizer says its COVID-19 booster shot extends strong protection, vaccine is being updated to target Delta variant. Pfizer and BioNTech say they have demonstrated that a third dose of their vaccine, given six months after the second, increases neutralizing antibodies five to tenfold against the original virus and the so-called Beta variant, which was first identified in South Africa. They plan soon to publish this data and submit it to the Food and Drug Administration. Source 2f.
FDA panel approves Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots only for Americans 65 and older and high-risk patients. While voting unanimously to approve a third Pfizer dose six months after full vaccination for older Americans and people at risk for severe COVID-19 cases, the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee decided there wasn’t yet sufficient evidence to support widespread boosters. Ref. USAToday.
FDA authorizes booster doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older and high-risk workers. The decision comes almost six weeks after the FDA authorized extra doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine for people who are severely immunocompromised. The newly authorized boosters won't be made available until after a CDC committee meets Thursday and decides on who should get them. Ref. USAToday.
New Pfizer data shows COVID-19 vaccines for kids ages 5-11 are more than 90% effective; FDA to consider authorization next week. On Tuesday, the first of two independent review panels will examine data from Pfizer-BioNTech's trials in 5- to 11-year-olds and decide whether the vaccine's benefits outweigh its risks for 28 million kids. Source 1d.
A new drug being developed by Pfizer could nearly end deaths from COVID-19, company study suggests. When given within five days of the onset of symptoms, the antiviral therapy called Paxlovid prevented almost 90% of deaths from COVID-19 compared to a placebo, a Pfizer study found. Source 7s.