Sinovac’s Covid-19 vaccine is highly effective against serious illness, although rival shots from Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca showed better protection rates, a large real world study from Malaysia showed.
The United States plans to donate an additional 500 million Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE to nations around the world, lifting the total the country is sharing to more than 1 billion doses, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Initial results from a vaccine trial reported Sept. 20 showed that Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine might be safe for use in children under 12 years old.
Data needed to determine the advisability of booster shots of the Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines is just weeks away, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on Sept. 19.
Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted on Sept. 17 to recommend Covid-19 vaccine booster shots for Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of severe illness, after overwhelmingly rejecting a call for broader approval.
External advisors to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will meet on Sept. 17 to consider data from Pfizer and BioNTech in support of booster shots. Meanwhile, a timeline is being presented on the authorization of Covid-19 vaccines for children.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration scientists said on Sept. 15 that booster doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine may not be needed, even though the third shot generates a higher immune response in recipients.
75 percent of adults in the United States have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as of the morning of Sept. 7, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sept. 5 that officials were likely to soon get the regulatory go-ahead to administer Covid-19 vaccine booster shots made by Pfizer, although the Moderna booster could take a little longer.
A White House plan to offer Covid-19 booster shots will most likely start during September only with the vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech, a narrower initiative than anticipated, a source familiar with the matter said on Sept. 3.
