Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

FDA Authorizes Booster Shots for Age 18, Older

  • By Al Mayadeen
  • Source: Agencies
  • 19 Nov 2021 22:57
  • 2 Shares
3 Min Read

Regulators for the European Union have authorized booster doses of both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for all adults.

  • x
  •  U.S. regulators have opened up COVID-19 booster shots to all and more adults.
    U.S. regulators have opened up COVID-19 booster shots to all and more adults.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday authorized booster shots of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for ages 18 and older.

The agency said the expansion was justified by currently available clinical trial data as well as real-world proof. In a statement, Dr. Peter Marks, who leads the FDA division that regulates vaccines, added: “Streamlining the eligibility criteria and making booster doses available to all individuals 18 years of age and older will also help to eliminate confusion about who may receive a booster dose and ensure booster doses are available to all who may need one.” 

A mounting number of governors had already offered boosters to everyone 18 and older ahead of the holidays, due to fears that declining protection and the onset of winter might start out a wave of breakthrough infections.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, has been recently arguing ceaselessly for booster shots for all adults, a position most of Mr. Biden’s other health advisers agree on. Public health experts who argue that healthy younger adults do not need them, he has said, are ignoring the risks of symptomatic Covid-19.

Related News

Von der Leyen faces no-confidence motion amid Pfizergate fallout: FT

New White House website claims COVID-19 caused by 'China lab leak'

The agency’s advisers are meeting on Friday to discuss who should be able to get the booster and will hear from Pfizer, Moderna, and C.D.C. staff. A vote is scheduled for 2:45 p.m.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the C.D.C. director, promised that the agency would do a quick review on the safety and effectiveness data and present recommendations as soon as we hear from FDA, at a White House briefing on Wednesday.

Critics have said practical or political reasons are behind the administration’s booster campaign, rather than scientific ones. Some said that federal regulators were quickly analyzing safety and efficacy data, while others are worried that moving to clear Pfizer and Moderna booster doses for all adults might inadvertently undermine the vaccines and suggest that two doses are not strongly protective.

Amid the booster debate, the question is what are vaccines supposed to do? Critics of the administration’s policy argue that despite some degree of waning protection, the vaccines are still fulfilling their task of protecting against severe disease and hospitalization.

In recent weeks, state after state has moved to allow booster shots for all adults, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Vermont, Arkansas, California, Colorado, and New Mexico.

A host of other countries have taken the same approach, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Norway, and Saudi Arabia. Regulators for the European Union have authorized booster doses of both Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech for all adults.

  • COVID-19
  • Moderna
  • Pfizer
  • European Union
  • US

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS