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U.S. CDC says all adults should get COVID-19 booster shots

Published 11/29/2021, 04:52 PM
Updated 11/29/2021, 08:38 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Nurses converses with a patients as they check in before they receive their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021.  REUTERS/Emily Elconi

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Nurses converses with a patients as they check in before they receive their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconi

(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday everyone aged 18 years and older should get a booster shot, as it looks to tackle a new and highly infectious strain of the coronavirus that is quickly spreading across the globe.

The update comes after President Joe Biden on Monday called for wider vaccination to curb the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, which was first detected in southern Africa.

The U.S. health regulators last week expanded the eligibility for booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines to all adults aged 18 and older either six months after their initial Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) or Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) vaccine doses or two months after their Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shot.

The CDC had, however, stopped short of saying all adults aged 18 to 49 should get the additional shots.

The agency is taking a more cautious stance as Omicron's emergence further emphasizes the importance of vaccination and boosters, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement on Monday.

Amid the renewed emphasis, Pfizer and partner BioNTech are expected to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the coming days to authorize their booster shots for those aged 16 and 17 years, the Washington Post reported on Monday, citing sources.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FDA could approve booster doses for 16 and 17 year-olds as soon as next week.

Pfizer, BioNTech and the FDA did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Omicron, which the World Health Organization said carried a very high risk for fueling infection surges, has now been confirmed in several countries including Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa and Canada.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Nurses converses with a patients as they check in before they receive their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021.  REUTERS/Emily Elconin

Scientists in the United States and around the world are urgently examining vaccine effectiveness related to this variant, the CDC said.

The agency also said the 47 million adults who are not yet vaccinated are encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Latest comments

OhMicro is 5x more contagious than Delta coz  Oh-Micro has 34% more spikes and is airborne rather than droplets. I bet the market will continue its downtrend soon
1 in 425 Americans have died from covid-19. the unvaccinated are 11 times more likely to die of covid-19.
Let them die if they really want to take those risks. Stop bemoaning the unvaccinated. They are choosing their path with both eyes open,
I see lessko is still twesting information and spinning half-truths. if the previous administration had done it's job instead of spreading misinformation and politicizing, had institued the necessary steps to control the pandemic, deaths would have been at a minimum and we could have ended this pandemic, instead we got antivaccers, with their bs, lies, and misinformation. because of antivaccers like lessko, hundreds of thousands of people have died needlessly.
So at what stage do they stop pushing mandates and restrictions? When it’s no worse than the typical flu, or will this keep going even as variants become less and less dangerous?
A booster? To "boost" what exactly? If the first and second Jabs didn't work, can someone please explain how a third so-called "booster" can have any different outcome.
boosters are to REBOOST original strength. Every jab wears out by the 6th month. So a booster will REFRESH the original strength. -- The vax deniers cause everyone else to have to go through more rounds of vax's and related fees to the medical community. The vax deniers cause an enormous drag on progress
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