FDA panel denies authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine booster shot to general public

The panel endorses the booster shots only to individuals 65 years or older, or at high risk of severe illness. Unsplash

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel recently voted against recommending Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 booster shots, only allowing distribution to people ages 65 and up or those at high risk of severe illness who received their second dose six months ago.

Composed of scientists, physicians and public health experts, the panel voted 16-2 against a booster for people 16 and older due to the lack of evidence proving the boosters are safe for younger people.

“We’re being asked to approve this as a three-dose vaccine for people 16 years of age and older, without any clear evidence if the third dose for a younger person when compared to an elderly person is of value,” said committee member Paul Offit, who also serves as the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, in an interview with NBC News.

According to Jerika Lam, Chapman University’s viral infection specialist, the purpose of booster shots is to stimulate the immune system and remind it of the antibodies needed to prevent sickness.

Lam also explains that many vaccines for diseases, such as hepatitis C, have booster shots, so the concept of a booster shot for the Pfizer vaccine is not unprecedented. 

The FDA panel’s decision comes just as Orange County starts to see COVID-19 hospitalizations trend younger. . ​​Timothy Korber, medical director of emergency medical services at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, told Voice of OC that, earlier in the pandemic, the average age of COVID-19 hospitalization was approximately 64. However, that average age has recently lowered to 46.

Lam said the drop is mostly due to low vaccination rates among younger populations.

“At the beginning of the year, we focused on the elderly and the immunocompromised,” Lam said. “When (the) Delta (variant) came onto the scene, (younger people) were not prioritized to get the vaccine. So, we see an inverse relationship where more hospitalizations were not associated with older people, but they were associated with the younger people in their 30s or 40s who didn’t feel they needed the vaccine because they were young.”

According to the OC Health Care Agency, Orange County residents between the ages of 65 and 74 comprise 8.8% of the population, and they also make up 7.9% of the vaccinated population. Meanwhile, OC residents between the ages of 18 and 24 make up 9.2% of the population but only 6.6% of the vaccinated population.

Lam also said that the original Pzifer vaccine was developed to combat the Alpha and Beta strains of the coronavirus. However, the Delta variant has proven to be much more aggressive and fatal, prompting the need for a potential booster.

Chapman students are split on the issue. Out of the 767 responses in a poll from The Panther, 75% said they believe booster shots should be provided to all individuals, while 25% believe they should only be offered to the elderly and the immunocompromised. 

“I do think anyone who’s eligible to receive the vaccine in the first place should be eligible to receive the booster shot,” said Daniel McGreevy, a junior political science major. “Based on research I’ve seen, you’re supposed to get your booster shots eight months after your second dose.”

Junior film production major Jane Simonetti agrees booster shots should be distributed to everyone without a restriction on age.

“As someone who has gotten the booster due to being immunocompromised, I think everyone my age (who received the) Pfizer (vaccine) should get the booster,” Simonetti says. “If we have more ways to protect against COVID-19, everyone should also get the extra protection.”