EU regulator OKs 3rd Pfizer dose for adults
AMSTERDAM – The European Union’s drug regulator gave its backing Monday to administering booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people 18 and older.
The European Medicines Agency said the booster doses “may be considered at least six months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older.”
The agency’s human medicines committee issued the recommendation after studying data for the Pfizer vaccine that showed a rise in antibody levels following boosters given around six months after the second dose in people from 18 to 55 years old.
The agency also said it supports giving a third dose of either the PfizerBioNTech or the Moderna vaccine to people with severely weakened immune systems at least 28 days after their second shot.
Pfizer-BioNTech said in a statement that they “do not expect the introduction of booster doses in the United States and the EU, if authorized, to impact the existing supply agreements in place with governments and international health organizations around the world.”