CDC recommends Covid-19 Booster of Pfizer and Moderna for All Adult Americans

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An independent panel has advised the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to recommend Covid-19 boosters for everyone age 18 and up (who received vaccines of Pfizer or Moderna) at least 6-months after their 2^nd dose. The Director of CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky endorsed the committee’s expanded booster recommendations shortly after on Friday and made the guidance official. Walensky issued a statement and said, “Booster shots have demonstrated the ability to safely increase people’s protection against infection and severe outcomes and are an important public health tool to strengthen our defenses against the virus as we enter the winter holidays. Based on the compelling evidence, all adults over 18 should now have equitable access to a COVID-19 booster dose”. Everyone who received Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine at least two months ago was already eligible for a booster.

However, some vaccinated adults who got Pfizer or Moderna, including people 65 and older, adults with underlying medical conditions, and adults at a high risk of infection due to their job, such as hospital workers, teachers, or grocery store workers are also eligible for a booster. The FDA and CDC gave the OK last month, for all adults eligible for a booster to mix and match and get any of three available Covid-19 vaccines as a booster dose. The US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has expanded emergency use authorization for both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines, clearing the booster doses for all fully vaccinated adults 18 and older. The move opened booster eligibility to millions of more people and gave official backing to steps some were already taking. The CDC committee also voted to strengthen the Covid-19 booster recommendation for individuals age 50 and older.

It clearly indicates the CDC now says someone who is 50 or older should get a booster, a younger age than the earlier recommendation that people age 65 or older should get a booster. Moreover, the recommendation everyone over 50 should get a booster, residents of long-term care facilities should also get one, as well as Johnson & Johnson recipients. Health experts at the meeting expressed a need to clear up the language in the CDC’s recommendation on who should get a booster. The booster eligibility criteria confused and created barriers for people who may really benefit from a booster, for many adults, and their health care providers. The CDC’s extensive list of medical conditions for eligibility includes common conditions like being overweight, having mood disorders, or ever having been a smoker. The committee chair, Dr. Grace Lee said, “It’s almost harder to figure out who’s not eligible”.