if we go back nine months when the fda first met to authorize pfizer s vaccine it was easy to anticipate the outcome, authorization. but the same can t be said when advisers meet this friday over pfizer s booster shots. why? well, the biden administration has pushed a september 20 rollout for weeks, but there s heated debate inside the fda over dueling sets of data. the latest, three studies two of which are notably sponsored by pfizer support the argument for boosters. new data from moderna also suggests the same. but it was just a week ago that the cdc published three separate articles that suggested otherwise. no need for boosters. over the last two months there s been other data and confusing talks, frankly, from the top. wavering between not needing it and needing it. the impact is real because it adds to skepticism. and we cannot tolerate that right now. others have rushed to get a
group says. n much of that is very new. let s see what all the scientists and all the experts can come up with as far as a response. this is a good thing. this is the way we ought to be doing it. yeah, it s just people have an expectation it was already done and we were ready for a september 20 rollout and now you guys are debating it, which is fine. i ve been saying all along on this show, doctor, and about you you guys don t make great messengers because you stay on the facts. and people aren t used to that. people are used to a government official named dr. collins who will come on and say no it will always be this and anyone who says anything else is wrong and we re confident. that s politics, it s not science. thank you for explaining the process. we look forward to clarity. all right, we ll try for that. and again, one of the other things to watch for is with the boosters are we trying only to prevent severe disease? but what about people who just get pretty darn sick with th
the opinions together and make decisions. when in fact this is the right way to get to the answer we can defend and not something arbitrary. it would have been fine except you re in a toxic climate where everything gets politicized except biden came out september 20 and had confidence in it. you had fauchy saying it s time for a booster and now it seems that s not true. that s the problem. well, i was part of the group of docs that looked at the data three or four weeks ago, could see what was coming, wanted to get ahead of this virus not behind it and made it very clear fda and cdc would have to do their official job looking at this but didn t want to get caught unprepared. if they come down in favor of boosters then by the week of the 20th which is very soon we d want to be ready for that. so it was a preparatory step. it was in no way supposed to
i don t know why that should be seen as a negative. when in fact this is the right way to get to the answer we can defend and not something arbitrary. it would have been fine except you re in a toxic climate where everything gets politicized except biden came out september 20 and had confidence in it. you had fauci saying it s time for a booster and now it seems that s not true. that s the problem. well, i was part of the group of docs that looked at the data three or four weeks ago, could see what was coming, wanted to get ahead of this virus not behind it and made it very clear fda and cdc would have to do their official job looking at this but didn t want to get caught unprepared. if they come down in favor of boosters then by the week of the 20th which is very soon we d want to be ready for that.
bret: there are growing questions tonight about president biden s vaccine policy and whether he is ignoring medical advice about booster shots. we will know more tomorrow after an fda meeting. tonight, white house correspondent peter doocy looks at what s at stake for president biden. days after several afghans were killed clinging to a cargo plane president biden tried to change the subject back to covid. there s a simple rule rule. 8 months after your second shot, get a booster shot. four days from today. we will be ready to start these booster this booster program during the week of september 20. that s as long as the fda and the cdc sign off. there is data provided by the fda that will be analyzed next week acip is planning to meet and based on the recommendation we re prepared to operationalize our plan. but, fda advisers write two