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CDC: Pfizer Booster Now Available to Millions of Americans, Including Frontline Workers

The CDC director overruled an advisory board to green-light boosters for anyone whose job puts them at risk.

Millions of Americans who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus are now eligible for a Pfizer booster shot to strengthen their protection ahead of the winter season—including younger people who are at particular risk because of their jobs. Early Friday morning, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky announced who will be able to get the booster. As expected, they include people age 65 and over, patients of long-term care facilities, and people with underlying health conditions. But Walensky also overruled a recommendation by an agency advisory panel that, earlier this week, refused to endorse boosters for frontline workers. Walensky said that giving booster shots to health-care workers and other people put at risk by their jobs “best serve the nation’s public-health needs.” According to The New York Times, the White House is expected to announce its plan for the booster shots in the hours following the CDC announcement.