CDC panel considers who needs booster shots

Influential government advisers are debating which Americans should get an extra dose of Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine once regulators clear the booster shots.The Food and Drug Administration is expected to rule soon on Pfizers bid for extra doses, after its advisers last week dramatically scaled back the Biden administrations plans for boosters for everyone.

Influential government advisers are debating which Americans should get an extra dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine once regulators clear the booster shots.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to rule soon on Pfizer's bid for extra doses, after its advisers last week dramatically scaled back the Biden administrations plans for boosters for everyone. Instead, that panel backed booster shots for seniors and others at high risk.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has the final word on who would qualify and convened its own advisers Wednesday to start deliberations.

The priority remains to vaccinate the unvaccinated, who the CDC says account for the vast majority of COVID-19 cases, now soaring to levels not seen since last winter. About 182 million Americans are fully vaccinated, nearly 55% of the total population.

The government will decide later whether to allow extra doses of Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.