FDA panel is first key test for Biden COVID-19 booster plan

WASHINGTON (AP) —Government advisers are debating whether to recommend extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine, a key step toward the Biden administration's plan to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to most Americans.

Scientists inside and outside the U.S. government have been divided in recent days over the need for boosters and who should get them. A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers will vote Friday on the safety and effectiveness of boosters.

If the FDA approves the extra doses a separate committee convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will debate who should get boosters and when.