Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said Sunday he's "not necessarily at all" disappointed by the Food and Drug Administration's advisory panel's decision to not recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans.
The advisory panel, which was only looking at data for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, overwhelmingly opted against an additional shot for everyone, and instead approved a third dose for people over 65 or individuals who are at high risk of developing severe COVID-19 infections, either because of underlying health conditions or the nature of their jobs.
Fauci, who backed the White House's push to roll out boosters, noted that "we had said right from the beginning that this would be contingent upon the examination of all of the data that the FDA accumulated that would be discussed with their advisory committee, and that's exactly what happened." At the end of the day, he told ABC News' Martha Raddatz, "I think the process worked."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Jasveen Sangha and the ketamine 'Wild West' of HollywoodIn The Spotlight Arrest of the 'ketamine queen' accused of supplying Friends star Matthew Perry with deadly dose has turned spotlight on a showbiz drug problem
-
Confessions of a Brain Surgeon: an 'exceptional' documentaryThe Week Recommends Retired neurosurgeon Henry Marsh reflects on his pioneering work with exquisitely 'raw honesty'
-
A new subtype of diabetes was found and it may require different treatmentUnder the radar It is prevalent in Black Africans and Americans
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Cytomegalovirus can cause permanent birth defectsThe Explainer The virus can show no symptoms in adults
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
