U.S. FDA considering lowering recommended age for Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 boosters

People receive COVID-19 booster vaccination in Michigan
A nurses fills up syringes for patients as they receive their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) booster vaccination during a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination clinic in Southfield, Michigan, U.S., September 29, 2021. REUTERS/Emily Elconin

NEW YORK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - A top U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said on Friday that the agency is considering lowering the recommended age for who should receive booster shots of the Pfizer (PFE.N)/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to as young as 40 years old, based on data from Israel suggesting the vaccine's efficacy is waning.

Israeli scientists presented "data that seemed compelling in the 40 and up age range," Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the FDA's enter for Biologics Evaluation and Research said, speaking to the agency's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Reporting by Michael Erman, Editing by Franklin Paul

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