10 things you need to know today: September 18, 2021

FDA panel recommends Pfizer boosters for people 65 and older, Pentagon admits August drone strike killed 10 Afghans, and more

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

1. FDA panel recommends Pfizer boosters for people 65 and older

An independent Food and Drug Administration advisory panel voted Friday to recommend booster doses for people 65 and older and individuals at high risk who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Data suggest that Pfizer's protection wanes somewhat over time, but the panel did not recommend an extra dose for everyone, voting 16 to 2 against administering boosters for Americans 16 and older despite a White House plan to roll out the additional shots next week. During Friday's meeting, committee member Dr. Michael G. Kurilla said "it's unclear everyone needs to be boosted, other than a subset of the population that clearly would be at high risk for serious disease."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Tim O'Donnell

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.