US approves third Pfizer dose for people above 65, at-risk Americans

The panel is likely to discuss guidance for physicians on how to administer the third doses

People over age 65 and adults at high risk of severe Covid-19 who have previously taken the Pfizer-BioNTech SE vaccine can receive a booster dose, the Food and Drug Administration said, opening a new and more controversial phase of the US immunisation campaign. 

The emergency-use authorization also allows boosters for people 18 and older whose occupational exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus puts them at elevated risk of serious complications. Booster doses can be given any time at least six months after a person received their second Pfizer shot, the FDA said in a statement.

The decision applies only to the Pfizer-BioNTech shot,