Pfizer Seeks Authorization for Second COVID-19 Booster

Pfizer and BioNTech on Tuesday requested U.S. regulators to authorize a second COVID-19 booster for seniors.

The companies said that Israeli data suggests that people over the age of 65 would benefit from a fourth dose.

“The protection that you are getting from the third, it is good enough, actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths. It’s not that good against infections,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told CBS on Sunday, per Fox News. “But, we are just submitting those data to the FDA and then we will see what the experts also will say outside Pfizer.”

As of now, a fourth dose is only recommended for those with severely weakened immune systems.

In a Tuesday press release, Pfizer also cited “emerging evidence” and data from Kaiser Permanente in southern California, which “suggests that effectiveness against both symptomatic COVID-19 and severe disease caused by omicron wanes 3 to 6 months after receipt of an initial booster dose.”