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Joe Biden received the booster dose of Pfizer‘s Covid-19 vaccine on Monday. He did so at a public event before the media. Biden, 78, used the occasion to ask the so-called at-risk groups to get the third dose of the vaccine.
“If you got the Pfizer vaccine in January, February, or March — and you are over 65, have a medical condition, or work in a frontline job — you can go get your booster,” Biden wrote on Twitter.
In recent months, the president had said that his goal was to vaccinate 70 % of the population before July 4, Independence Day of the United States, to declare the “independence of Covid-19.”
Despite Biden’s promise, last week the American health authorities authorized the third dose of the Pfizer vaccine for those over 65 years of age and also for seniors at health risk or especially exposed to Covid-19.
“Today’s action demonstrates that science and the currently available data continue to guide the FDA’s decision-making for COVID-19 vaccines during this pandemic,” the agency’s director,” Janet Woodcock, said in a statement.
The authorization of the third dose for these groups of people came a week after it was recommended by an FDA advisory committee.
Booster dose: conflicting opinions
The recommendation came in a second vote after previously rejecting, with broad support, the plan for a third dose for the majority of the population, deeming insufficient evidence to administer a booster dose to everyone.
Moreover, the decision came amidst conflicting opinions. For example, Sarah Gilbert, creator of AstraZeneca, considered the application of a third vaccination schedule unnecessary. The scientist explained that there were no signs of decreased immunity in the ongoing vaccine trials, which began in April 2020.
Finally, Gilbert called for more vaccines to be licensed instead, so that a greater variety would be available.
