Pfizer is Seeking U.S. Authorization for a 2nd Covid Booster for People 65 and Older

According to a source familiar with the plans, Pfizer and BioNTech are anticipated to seek authorization this week from the United States for a second Covie-19 vaccine booster for people aged 65 and older.

If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants authorization, the additional shot would go to a group of people who are among those with the highest risk of serious illness and death from Covid.

So far the FDA has authorized for booster shots for everybody 12 and older on an emergency use basis.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said last week that the company was close to submitting data to the FDA on a fourth dose of its vaccine after its scientists found that the protection from the first booster began to wane after three or four months.

“Clearly there is a need in an environment of omicron to boost the immune response,” he told CNBC in an interview Friday.

“We are going to submit to FDA a significant package of data about the need for a fourth dose,” he said, noting that the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would need to come to their own conclusions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone ages 12 and up receive a booster five months after their second shot of either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine or two months after receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

More than 66 percent of Americans ages 65 and older who are eligible for a booster have received one, according to data from the CDC.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.