FDA Says No To Booster For Some – What About Locally?

For months and months COVID-19 vaccines have been offered by the United States government. Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson vaccines have been administered to millions of Americans but only a few months after the rollout began there was talk about the efficacy of the vaccines beginning to wane. Medical officials said that there might need to be a booster shot given to people who had been fully vaccinated because of the appearance of a number of different variants of the original COVID-19 virus including the highly contagious Delta variant. Hospitals began reporting breakthrough infections and the government got to work on getting the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine booster.

The word about the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot possibility came down Friday and it wasn't good news. The Food and Drug Administration said no to a massive booster program for anyone who had been fully vaccinate. They didn't say no to an authorization to certain groups of people, however.

The FDA did say no to a COVID-19 booster for people under the age of 65. FDA officials say they did not feel that Pfizer officials gave enough data about the safety of their vaccine on people under the age of 65. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso is still offering their vaccine clinic and while they know of the FDA's decision regarding COVID boosters, they told a local news station that they are "targeting a very specific group for the third shot."

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center officials say they are offering a booster to high risk groups but there are people who are younger than 65 who could get very sick if they are infected and fully vaccinated. If you are under the age of 65 and are exploring the idea of a booster, you can call TTUHSC at (915) 215-5700, or click here for COVID info.