Fauci not disappointed by FDA advisory panel's COVID-19 booster recommendation

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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr.: A new plan for sabotaging vaccines
Feature The Health Secretary announced changes to vaccine testing and asks Americans to 'do your own research'
-
Unraveling autism: RFK Jr.'s vow to find a root cause
Feature RFK Jr. has vowed to find the root cause of the 'autism epidemic' in months. Scientists have doubts.
-
The sneaking rise of whooping cough
Under the Radar The measles outbreak isn't the only one to worry about
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths