More boosters approved in US for those most at risk

The US Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, on Wednesday authorized COVID-19 vaccine booster shots from Moderna and Johnson& Johnson and said that people can take a booster different from their initial inoculations.

"The availability of these authorized boosters is important for continued protection against COVID-19 disease," acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, was scheduled to consult a panel of experts on Thursday before finalizing official recommendations for who should get boosters and when.

The FDA had earlier authorized boosters of the Pfizer vaccine developed with German partner BioNTech at least six months after the first round of shots, to increase protection for people aged 65 and older, those at risk of severe disease and those who are exposed to the virus through their jobs.

Also, children in the US aged 5 to 11 will soon be able to get a COVID-19 shot if the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for that age group is authorized by the FDA and recommended by the CDC, the White House said on Wednesday.

White House officials said they have secured enough doses for roughly 28 million children in that age group and will provide smaller needles to make it easier to inject young children.

Federal regulators will meet over the next two weeks to weigh the safety and effectiveness of giving low-dose shots to them.

Wider range

The FDA's independent advisory committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, and a vaccine advisory panel to the CDC is due to meet on Nov 2-3. If the CDC director signs off on a recommendation for use, the vaccine can be administered to children.

The White House said that once the move is authorized, it will quickly distribute the shots to the offices of more than 25,000 pediatricians and primary care sites, as well as hospitals, pharmacies and community health centers.

The administration of US President Joe Biden also will roll out a national public education campaign to inform parents and guardians about the vaccine and solicit questions.

The plans come as a number of cities step up their efforts to get people vaccinated.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday that all public employees must get jabbed against COVID-19, with no option to get regular testing for the virus instead.

The order will affect more than 160,000 workers, including police, firefighters and correctional officers, 71 percent of whom are partially or fully vaccinated, according to official estimates.

Some 46,000 city workers still need to get their first shot by Oct 29 or potentially lose their jobs. The city's roughly 8,000 correction officers will face a later deadline of Dec 1.

The city already requires vaccinations for education and public healthcare workers. Among the 167,000 employees of the city's school system, 96 percent have complied, The Wall Street Journal reported.

New York City is one of the first major cities to require its workers to get vaccinated.

Agencies contributed to this story.