CDC panel endorses Covid-19 vaccine boosters for all adults

Advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorsed the use of Covid-19 booster shots for all adults on Friday. If approved, the boosters could give Americans additional protection against the virus.  

The recommendation comes hours after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized booster shots of Pfizer and Moderna for adults. Previously, the FDA had only allowed additional vaccines to recipients of Johnson & Johnson.

If CDC Director Rochelle Walensky signs off on the new booster policy, the additional vaccines will be available immediately to everyone over 18.

Eligible adults should have received the final dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine six months ago or Johnson & Johnson two months prior.

“As a clinician deep in the clinical trenches, I am really glad that we have clarity and streamlining of the recommendation so that all Americans can understand the vaccines that are recommended for them at this time,” said a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, Dr. Camille Kotton.

Earlier this month, Pfizer and Moderna applied to the FDA to expand their emergency authorization for booster shots and make them available to all eligible adults.

The current vaccine policy allows boosters for those over 65 or anyone at high risk of contracting Covid-19. However, less than 40 percent of this group has received the booster, according to the CDC.

The number of cases nationwide has been increasing. There were over 95,000 new Covid cases in the past week, 31 percent more than the past two weeks, according to a CNBC analysis.

Earlier this week, top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said Covid-19 can be reduced to an endemic illness if the country ramps up its vaccination efforts.

"To me, if you want to get to endemic, you have got to get the level of infection so low that it does not have an impact on society, on your life, on your economy," Fauci said. "People will still get infected. People might still get hospitalized, but the level would be so low that we don't think about it all the time and it doesn't influence what we do."