Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration say after meeting with Pfizer that more data is required to determine whether a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster is needed, the New York Times reports.
Pfizer and BioNTech announced last week that they were testing a booster dose of their vaccine to address a possible decline in protection from the initial vaccine doses. Some data from Israel has suggested a decrease in protection after about six months when faced with the Delta viral variant, but other studies have not supported that finding, as the Times previously reported. Both the FDA and the US Centers for Disease Control responded that fully vaccinated people do not currently need a booster dose.
As the CNN now reports, a "courtesy" meeting took place Monday between US health officials and Pfizer's chief scientific officer. A Pfizer spokesperson called the meeting "productive," though Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says not much has changed, CNN reports. "The CDC and the FDA said that based on the data that we know right now, we don't need a boost," Fauci tells CNN, noting that their position might change with additional data.
According to the Times, Pfizer is analyzing data that Israeli health officials are sharing with it to assess in combination with lab tests whether immunity does wane after six to eight months and whether that contributes to breakthrough infections.