The US National Institutes of Health director says a government advisory panel’s decision to limit Pfizer’s Covid-19 booster shots to Americans 65 and older and those at high risk of severe disease is only a preliminary step, and predicts broader approval for most Americans “in the next few weeks”.
Dr Francis Collins told Fox News on Sunday that the panel’s recommendation on Friday was correct based on a “snapshot” of available data on the effectiveness of Pfizer’s two-shot regimen over time. But he said real-time data from the US and Israel continues to come in showing waning efficacy among broader groups of people that will need to be addressed soon.
In Italy, bookings for vaccine have spiked after the government said all staff must show proof of a jab, negative test or recent recovery from Covid-19. “On a national level, there was a generalised increase in bookings for the first dose between 20-40% compared to last week,” Covid-19 commissioner Francesco Figliuolo said.