US officials say more data is needed to see if Pfizer booster shots are necessary

In a meeting Monday between senior United States scientists, regulators, and representatives of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company, U.S. officials say more data and testing are needed before concluding that a COVID-19 booster shot is necessary.

Officials said it could take several months of research to determine if booster shots are necessary for fighting COVID-19.

"It was an interesting meeting. They shared their data. There wasn’t anything resembling a decision," Dr. Fauci said Monday evening to The New York Times. "This is just one piece of a much bigger puzzle, and it’s one part of the data, so there isn’t a question of a convincing case one way or the other."

Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser for the pandemic, had agreed that there is insufficient evidence that a booster shot would be necessary.

Companies BioNTech and Pfizer have said that a booster shot would help increase the vaccine's efficacy, worrying that COVID-19 immunity could wane six to eight months after receiving the second vaccine shot. However, the Biden administration has pushed back, arguing that telling people they need a third shot could delay people from getting the first tow shots at all.