FDA authorizes booster dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people 65 and older, high-risk workers

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for people 65 and older and those whose jobs put them at high risk for exposure to COVID-19.

Individuals 18 and up who are at high risk for severe COVID-19 were also included in the authorization, which only covers those who are at least six months out from their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

High-risk jobs include "health care workers, teachers and day care staff, grocery workers and those in homeless shelters or prisons, among others,” said acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock. 

The decision comes almost six weeks after the FDA authorized extra doses of the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for people who are severely immunocompromised.

"We believe boosters have an important role to play in addressing the continued threat of this disease, alongside efforts to increase global access and uptake among the unvaccinated," said Albert Bourla, Pfizer chairman and chief executive officer.

The newly-authorized boosters won't be made available until after a critical Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee meets Thursday and decides exactly who should get them.

The FDA's authorization was not what Pfizer and BioNTech had originally asked for. Almost a month ago they submitted an application to the FDA to get boosters approved for everyone 16 and over at least six months after their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.