Washington, Jul 11 (FN Agency) Pfizer plans to argue for the use of COVID-19 booster shots during a scheduled Monday meeting with US health officials, Washington Post has reported, citing the company and sources. Earlier in the week, Pfizer and BioNTech promised to provide the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency with the information about the third dose of its coronavirus vaccine viewed as a booster of their drug. However, the US Department of Health and Human Services rebuked the idea, dismissing the need for booster shots at the moment.
Among the officials invited to the briefing are chief US expert on infectious diseases Anthony Fauci, NIH Director Francis Collins, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and David Kessler, the chief science officer for the COVID-19 response. However, it is unclear who will actually attend the meeting, which itself may be postponed. Last Sunday, Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, told CBS News that the United States is ready to use COVID-19 booster shots once experts recommend doing so.