People wait in line to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile vaccine clinic in the Brooklyn borough of New York, United States, Aug. 23, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

Some 60 million people in the US are now eligible for a Pfizer booster shot against COVID-19, President Joe Biden said Friday as a regulatory marathon laying bare divisions within the scientific community on the issue came to a close.

In the end, US health authorities have recommended boosters for three categories of people: those 65 and older, those 18-64 with an underlying medical condition such as diabetes or obesity, and those who are especially exposed to the virus because of their work or where they live.

The at-risk group is large and includes teachers, grocery store employees, healthcare workers, prisoners and people living in shelters.

A total of 20 million people who got their second Pfizer shot at least six months ago qualify for a booster, Biden said.

"Go get the booster," he said in remarks at the White House.

"I'll be getting my booster shot," the 78-year-old president added, "as soon as I can."

Biden said people who have received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccinations could get booster shots once studies have been completed and he expected that all Americans would be eligible "in the near term."

Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Friday that data on Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots would be evaluated "in the coming weeks."

Some immunocompromised people in the US have been eligible to receive a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine since early August.

Biden had wanted to launch a mass campaign of Pfizer and Moderna booster shots this week for all Americans.

But the move was put on hold by the US health authorities. Moderna did not submit the necessary data in time and experts were divided about what to do regarding Pfizer.

The CDC on Friday overruled its own panel of health experts to back Pfizer booster shots for individuals at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 because of their jobs.

Walensky said the agency had to act on "complex, often imperfect data" for the greater good of public health.

Speaking at a briefing on Friday, the CDC director said "our healthcare systems are once again at maximum capacity in parts of the country.

"Our teachers are facing uncertainty as they walk into the classroom, and I must do what I can to preserve the health across our nation," she said.

The CDC backed the expert panel's recommendation of booster shots for over-65s.

The decision came after the US Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer booster shots for a broader swathe of the American public.

A day before the CDC recommendation, its expert committee had voted against booster shots for workers in the higher risk category, adding to confusion around the campaign. 

AFP