CDC Recommends COVID-19 Booster Vaccine for Group That Advisory Panel Did Not

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overrode its vaccine advisory panel early Friday and said people as young as 18 who have certain jobs or living situations may get a COVID-19 vaccine booster.

The recommendation means millions of more Americans may get a booster shot, even though experts during a meeting said there was not enough data to support boosters for many younger people.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a Biden nominee, decided to reject the expert panel’s guidance and allow anybody between the ages of 18 and 64 who are at “increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting” to get a booster of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

That same recommendation was voted down 9–6 during the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Thursday.