10 things you need to know today: September 23, 2021

The FDA authorizes Pfizer booster for seniors and high-risk people, Biden and Macron talk to ease tensions over submarine deal, and more

Pfizer vaccine
(Image credit: JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)

1. FDA authorizes Pfizer booster for seniors, people at high risk

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine booster for people 65 and older, and those at risk of serious illness. Health-care workers also are eligible under the first emergency-use approval for a COVID-19 booster. The ruling was not as broad as the Biden administration had hoped, but the CDC estimates it covers 53 million older Americans, up to 20 million health-care workers, and as many as 100 million people with medical conditions putting them at risk of severe illness if they get infected. Pfizer's is the first vaccine to be cleared for an additional shot, although data for Johnson & Johnson and Moderna boosters will be considered next.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.