Pfizer is testing a COVID-19 booster and pneumococcal vaccine combo
Pfizer has administered its first round of shots in a new study analyzing the "coadministration" of its pneumococcal vaccine candidate and a third "booster dose" of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced on Monday.
The study, which focuses on fully-vaccinated adults over age 65, is intended to nail down the safety of the combined vaccines, and will evaluate immune responses produced by the vaccines when administered together, said Pfizer. The pneumococcal candidate itself is aimed at protecting adults "against 20 serotypes responsible for the majority of invasive pneumococcal disease and pneumonia," writes Reuters.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously advised COVID-19 vaccinations be administered alone, Reuters reports. Now, after "experience with non-COVID vaccines," co- or same day administration has been deemed safe.
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.
Read more at Reuters.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Saudi Arabia could become an AI focal pointUnder the Radar A state-backed AI project hopes to rival China and the United States
-
What you need to know about last-minute travelThe Week Recommends You can book an awesome trip with a moment’s notice
-
Codeword: October 29, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
Dinosaurs were thriving before asteroid, study findsSpeed Read The dinosaurs would not have gone extinct if not for the asteroid
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
