No immediate changes after Pfizer and US officials meet to discuss possible booster shots

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No immediate changes after Pfizer and US officials meet to discuss possible booster shots

Tue, 2021-07-13 09:36 — mike kraft

'Nothing has changed' after briefing with Pfizer on booster shots Pfizer executives briefed US federal health officials Monday about why they believe a third booster shot of its vaccine will be needed. Amanda Sealy and Kaitlan Collins, CNN CNN

(CNN) Pfizer executives briefed US federal health officials Monday about why they believe a third booster shot of its vaccine will be needed.

The meeting was largely seen as a courtesy after the two sides disagreed last week on when a booster shot for the coronavirus vaccine might be necessary. That led to unusual pushback from the US Food and Drug Administration and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said fully vaccinated Americans don't need boosters right now.

Nothing has really changed," Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Chris Cuomo after the meeting.

The virtual meeting Monday evening lasted for an hour as Pfizer presented data. Top health officials were present, including Fauci, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine and Chief Science Officer of the Biden administration's Covid-19 response team Dr. David Kessler.

"The CDC and the FDA said that based on the data that we know right now, we don't need a boost," Fauci said.

"That doesn't mean that that won't change. We might need, as a matter of fact, at some time to give boosters either across the board or to certain select groups, such as the elderly or those with underlying conditions."

Pfizer called the meeting "productive."

We had a productive meeting with U.S. public health officials on the elements of our research program and the preliminary booster data in our ongoing trials. Both Pfizer and the U.S. government share a sense of urgency in staying ahead of the virus that causes COVID-19, and we also agree that the scientific data will dictate next steps in the rigorous regulatory process that we always follow," the company said in a statement

Pfizer said it would be publishing "more definitive data in a peer-reviewed journal and continuing to work with regulatory authorities to ensure that our vaccine continues to offer the highest degree of protection possible," according to Monday's statement.

Separately, a HHS spokesperson told CNN the meeting was not unusual. ...

ALSO SEE: Biden officials say booster shot not currently needed following Pfizer meeting

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