Top U.S. health officials say not enough data to recommend boosters widely -New York Times

03/09/2021 boos, coronavirus, health, US, USA

FILE PHOTO: Medical assistant Mariasha Davis draws the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine into a syringe before people are inoculated at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., February 13, 2021. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top U.S. health officials have told the White House they may not have enough data to recommend COVID-19 booster shots for the wider general public by late September as President Joe Biden had anticipated, the New York Times reported on Friday.

The top government officials advised the White House on Thursday to scale back a plan to offer the booster shots to the general public later this month, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the discussion.

They said they needed more time to collect and review all the necessary data, according to the report.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told White House COVID coordinator Jeffrey Zientz their agencies may be able recommend boosters by late September only for certain recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Times said.

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