US Plan for Booster Shots Hits a Roadblock

Last month, the White House pushed a plan to start doling out COVID booster shots in September. The new message surfacing: Not so fast. The New York Times reports that the proposal to start administering the extra shots on September 20 will be dramatically scaled back. At best, only people who received Pfizer shots will get a booster at that time, and even then probably only the most vulnerable in that camp, such as the elderly and health-care workers, notes the Wall Street Journal. It's also possible even the Pfizer shots will be delayed.

The new thinking emerged Thursday when FDA chief Janet Woodcock and CDC chief Rochelle Walensky met with White House officials and said they needed more time to evaluate the boosters, particularly for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. For example, scientists are trying to figure out the best proper dosage for the Moderna version. For J&J, the big question is how long to wait after the single-dose shot to deliver the booster. “We always said we would follow the science and this is all part of a process that is now underway,” said White House spokesman Chris Meagher, per the Washington Post. “We are awaiting a full review and approval" by the two agencies. (More coronavirus vaccine stories.)