Pfizer to Meet With U.S. Officials About COVID-19 Booster Shot

Pfizer said it will meet with U.S. officials on Monday to discuss possible authorization for a third booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine.

Last week, Pfizer cited data from Israel that showing its vaccine is declining in effectiveness at preventing milder coronavirus cases as the highly contagious Delta variant circulates in that country. But some American scientists and health officials have cautioned that only the company has seen that data so far, although Pfizer plans to share it with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, The Washington Post reported.

Pfizer also announced last week that early data suggest people's antibody levels jumped fivefold to 10-fold higher after a third dose, demonstrating a convincing need for a booster shot.

Only about 48 percent of the entire U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and in parts of the country where vaccination rates are lower, the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading and cases are climbing. Last week, Rochelle Walensky, M.D., director of the CDC, said that is creating a harsh truth: Highly immunized swaths of America are returning to normal, while cases and hospitalizations are rising in places where vaccination rates are low.