people with solid organ transplants and certain forms of cancer, so what we re talking about now is a little bit different. it s a booster dose for people who had an adequate or normal response to the first two doses. i think the fda today is going to say, one, is it safe to get a third dose? number two, does it actually do what it s supposed to do, which is rev up that immune response or antibody response and the third key question is, what you highlighted, who should actually get it? i think what they re trying to tease apart is who really is at risk for not having a booster dose, and who is end p up in the hospital? who is ending up with severe disease, and who would stand to benefit the most from a booster dose? dr. fauci said that he strongly believes and the data strongly suggests that pfizer booster will be recommended. we also have those two outgoing fda officials who say that there is no evidence that the general population needs a booster. this is not like a slight, nuanced
should we have expected this? because we ve not followed this process of fda approval and authorization closely like this in recent history. is this common? if not, why are we seeing a contradiction like this? i think it s necessary. i think it s very necessary dialogue because we have to get this right. and the reason why we have to get this right is because not only are we discussing whether or not those who have been fully vaccinated should have a third boost dose, but we still have a sizable amount of american public that is unvaccinated. so, they re listening. this process is very illuminating and it s a lesson in public health communication 101. it s a lesson in the regulatory process, and i think all of us should take pause and intensely reflect on, let the data show what the data shows and then speak only with certainty what the data tells us with certainty. i do agree that boosters are going to be likely recommended, but i also think that those
team had planned to begin distributing boosters next week, but even if this fda panel signs off, another approval must come from the cdc. president biden s chief medical advisor, dr. anthony fauci, today suggesting approval is likely. the data that i have seen, i believe strongly suggests that will be the case. our position about at least planning for the eadventureuation that we might have to give boosters, we vernal have planned very ready to go, pending the decision that s made from a regulatory standpoint. cnn s senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen is here to explain the arguments for or against boosters, so elizabeth, what are you learning from the meeting today? alisyn, this issue is so hotly contested, because the data just doesn t agree with each other. let s first look at the argument against boosters. this argument basically says the two shots, the two shots that so many of us have had, they are
that does it for me on this friday. hope you have a wonderful weekend. i m ana cabrera in new york, you can find me over the weekend on twitter, and victor blackwell and alisyn camerota take over and alisyn camerota take over from here. captions by vitac www.vitac.com hello, everyone, welcome to newsroom, i m alisyn camerota. i m victor blackwell, good to be with you. we are just now a few hours away from a crucial fda decision, its advisory panel is set to vote on whether millions of americans should start getting covid booster shots. now, this decision would impact people who have received both doses of the pfizer vaccine. advisors on the fda panel are debating the issue right now. there s a live look at their zoom call. they re weighing evidence from the uk and israel, which shows that boosters are necessary because of waning immunity. now, the advice is not unanimous. two departing high-level fda scientists say a booster shot is not needed at this time. president biden
that s it s not usually done that way, and dr. offit and others say because president biden set a date, that means we now have to rush this, and they do feel rushed, many of them. okay, elizabeth cohen, thank you very much for explaining everything that s happening in that meeting right now. let s bring in our medical experts, dr. steven thomas, a coordinating principal investigator for pfizer s phase 3 trial, he also helped lead its global vaccine trial. and dr. chris pernell volunteered in a moderna trial. dr. thomas, let s assume that the fda says yes to boosters and then the cdc says yes to boosters. who s affected by this? is this just for immunocompromised people or people over 65 or all of us? good afternoon, and thanks for having me. so, you remember in the middle of august, the federal government already allowed third doses to be given to certain immunosuppressed populations, so