CDC Clears Vaccine Boosters for 65 Plus
CDC Clears Vaccine Boosters for 65-Plus Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.
People aged 50–64 with underlying medical conditions People aged 18–49 with underlying medical conditions, based on their individual benefits and risks People aged 18-64 who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of their occupation (e.g., health care workers, teachers, grocery store employees), based on their individual benefits and risks Walensky did accept a suggestion by the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that people ages 18 to 49 with underlying medical conditions could also get a booster, depending on their individual risk of getting COVID and the benefit another shot could provide. People with have already been cleared to get a third shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine s.
Taken together, Walensky's decisions make it possible for a wide swath of Americans to get a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine. The boosters will be available immediately to people in these categories if it's been at least six months since they got their second Pfizer shot. The Biden administration announced several weeks ago that pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA ), all adults would be able to get a booster eight months after their second shot beginning the week of Sept. 20. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > A number of panel members questioned whether the boosters would do anything to quell the pandemic and also pointed to the lack of data on the safety and effectiveness of a third shot, especially in those under age 65.
"We're fighting a pandemic , and it's not because people got two doses. It's because people are unvaccinated," said Helen Talbot, an associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Giving people boosters, she added, "is not going to solve the pandemic."
CDC Clears COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots for 65-Plus
In a rare move CDC director overrules advisory panel and OKs shots for those at risk from their job
Wachiwit / Getty Images Adults age 65 and older and residents of long-term care facilities who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech should get a third "booster" shot, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided just before midnight on Sept. 24. The agency chief also accepted several other recommendations of her advisory committee, including one that encourages an extra shot for people ages 50 to 65 with underlying medical conditions. But in a highly unusual move, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky went against the panel's strong rejection of allowing a third shot for people whose job puts them at high risk for getting or transmitting and said those Americans may get a booster. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. "As CDC Director, it is my job to recognize where our actions can have the greatest impact," Walensky said in a statement accompanying her decision. "At CDC, we are tasked with analyzing complex, often imperfect data to make concrete recommendations that optimize health. In a pandemic, even with uncertainty, we must take actions that we anticipate will do the greatest good."Who Qualifies for Pfizer s Booster Shot
The CDC recommends the following people get a COVID-19 booster at least six months after getting shots one and two in the Pfizer-BioNTech series . People 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settingsPeople aged 50–64 with underlying medical conditions People aged 18–49 with underlying medical conditions, based on their individual benefits and risks People aged 18-64 who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of their occupation (e.g., health care workers, teachers, grocery store employees), based on their individual benefits and risks Walensky did accept a suggestion by the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that people ages 18 to 49 with underlying medical conditions could also get a booster, depending on their individual risk of getting COVID and the benefit another shot could provide. People with have already been cleared to get a third shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine s.
Taken together, Walensky's decisions make it possible for a wide swath of Americans to get a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine. The boosters will be available immediately to people in these categories if it's been at least six months since they got their second Pfizer shot. The Biden administration announced several weeks ago that pending approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA ), all adults would be able to get a booster eight months after their second shot beginning the week of Sept. 20. AARP Membership — $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Flowers & Gifts 25% off sitewide and 30% off select items See more Flowers & Gifts offers > A number of panel members questioned whether the boosters would do anything to quell the pandemic and also pointed to the lack of data on the safety and effectiveness of a third shot, especially in those under age 65.
"We're fighting a pandemic , and it's not because people got two doses. It's because people are unvaccinated," said Helen Talbot, an associate professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Giving people boosters, she added, "is not going to solve the pandemic."