FDA potentially blocks White House booster shot plan

Advisory panel recommends targeting only high-risk groups - NBC'S Sarah Dallof reports

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC News/KYMA, KECY) - The back and forth on booster shots is moving closer to a final call. An FDA advisory panel on Friday voted against recommending a third shot of Pfizer vaccine to eligible Americans at-large.

However, it did recommend shots for those 65 and older, and those considered high-risk.

"I think we need to target the boosters right now specifically to the people who are likely to be high-risk," said Dr. Michael Kurilla with the National Institutes of Health.

The decision now move to the full FDA, which typically follows the panel's guidance, although it doesn't have to. It comes amid worldwide debate within the scientific community as to if emerging data supports the need for booster shots, especially while some countries don't yet have access to vaccines.

"The Delta variant did not arise here in the United States, it arose in another country. If we truly want to get the pandemic under control we have to do so much more than we're currently doing to help vaccinate the world's population," said Dr. Richard Besser, former acting head of the CDC.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., COVID cases are climbing at alarming rates in some areas. Hospitals in Idaho now have to ration supplies and triaging patients.

"We are being absolutely crushed"

That's prompting health experts to shine the spotlight on a broader issue: getting more eligible Americans their initial doses. According to the CDC, a third still aren't fully vaccinated.

The full FDA will take up the booster shot debate, including Friday's recommendations, during a two-day meeting scheduled for next week.