Brussels: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Monday gave its backing to booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 18 and above.
Booster shot
The European Union’s drug regulator said that the booster shot “may be considered at least 6 months after the second dose”. The EMA’s recommendations will be sent to health authorities in all 27 EU nations.
Extra dose useful
The agency said its decision came after studies showed that an extra dose of the vaccines increased people’s ability to produce antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19 in organ transplant patients with weakened immune systems.“Although there is no direct evidence that the ability to produce antibodies in these patients protected against COVID-19, it is expected that the extra dose would increase protection at least in some patients,” the agency said in a statement.
