CDC Chief Overrules Her Own Advisers After Panel Doesn’t Recommend Booster Shots For Frontline Workers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky overruled the agency advisory panel on booster shots and recommended the vaccine for frontline workers in an overnight Friday decision.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met Wednesday and Thursday to determine whether to support recommending boosters to specific populations. The agency advisory panel ultimately endorsed boosters – specifically the Pfizer vaccine – but only for Americans ages 65 and older, as well as those at a high risk of serious illness.

President Joe Biden’s administration predicted the booster shots would be widely available by mid-September. The president’s agenda got a boost when Walensky overruled her own agency’s advisers and backed the booster for at-risk workers in addition to the original recommendations.

“This updated interim guidance from CDC allows for millions of Americans who are at highest risk for COVID-19 to receive a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 booster shot to help increase their protection,” the CDC said in a statement that arrived early Friday.

The move is the latest in what’s been an often confusing series of messaging comi... (Read more)

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