The United States authorized an extra dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for people with weakened immune systems overnight Thursday to Friday, as the country struggles to thwart the Delta variant.
Emergency use authorization for a third injection of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines was granted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulator.
“The country has entered yet another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease,” said acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock in a statement.
The FDA said the additional dose was for solid organ transplant recipients or those with equivalent weakened immune systems.
US health authorities had been debating whether a third dose may be required, following a similar move by Israel.
Some media reports suggest that one million Americans may have had unauthorized third doses in an attempt to increase protection against the coronavirus.
“Individuals who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected and do not need an additional dose of Covid-19 vaccine at this time,” Woodcook said.
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee voted in favor of the decision on Friday, with the agency subsequently publishing its recommendations for the administration of a third dose for use by healthcare professionals.
However, the committee said people who received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine, a minority of the US population, were not included in the decision due to lack of available data.
