Breaking — FDA refuses to back Pfizer booster shot…

• The FDA staff declined to take a stance on whether to back booster shots of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, saying U.S. regulators haven’t verified all the available data.
• “Overall, data indicate that currently US-licensed or authorized COVID-19 vaccines still afford protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death in the United States,” they wrote in a 23-page document.
• The staff report is meant to brief the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which meets Friday to review Pfizer’s request to approve Covid booster doses for the general public.

The staff of the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday declined to take a stance on whether to back booster shots of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, saying U.S. regulators haven’t verified all the available data.

“There are many potentially relevant studies, but FDA has not independently reviewed or verified the underlying data or their conclusions,” they wrote in a 23-page document published on the agency’s website. “Some of these studies, including data from the vaccination program in Israel, will be summarized during the September 17, 2021 VRBPAC meeting.”

The staff said some observational studies have suggested declining efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine over time against symptomatic infection or against the delta variant, while others have not.

www.cnbc.com/2021/09/15/covid-booster-shots-fda-staff-declines-to-take-stance-on-pfizers-third-doses-citing-lack-of-verified-data.html