After a one-hour virtual meeting with U.S. federal health officials on Monday, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) did not make progress to convince authorities on why a third shot of its vaccine is necessary. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN that, despite the data presented, “nothing has really changed.”
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Boosters to Be Considered Further Down the Line
The session was attended, among others, by CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the National Institutes of Health Dr. Francis Collins, Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, and Chief Science Officer of the Biden administration's COVID-19 response team, Dr. David Kessler.
As reported by CNN, the courtesy meeting took place after last week when the two parties disagreed on when the booster shot could be implemented.
After the gathering, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) asserted that fully vaccinated Americans don't need boosters at the moment.
According to Fauci, “The CDC and the FDA said that based on the data that we know right now, we don't need a boost.”
However, he continued, “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.”
A Productive Meeting
Despite no progress made, Pfizer said this was a “productive” meeting.
The pharma giant went on to say in a statement, “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.”
Pfizer assured that it would publish within time, “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.”
The company argued last week that, “Based on the totality of data that we have to date, we continue to believe that a third dose may be necessary between six and 12 months after full vaccination (with two doses),” given “a decline in the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing infection and symptomatic disease six months after vaccination.”
