Pfizer Says Israel Data Shows 3rd Covid Shot Restores Protection to 95%

• A third dose of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine six months after a second shot restores protection from infection to 95% in a real-world setting in Israel, according to data submitted by the company to the Food and Drug Administration. 
• While the effectiveness of the mRNA vaccine wanes over time, a booster shot was shown to elicit an immune response similar to the protection generated after a second dose, Pfizer said in a 52-page presentation released by the agency Wednesday. 
• The FDA released the data as the agency faces pressure from the Biden administration to authorize booster shots for the general population as early as next week. But agency staff declined to take a stance on the need for a third shot, citing the lack of verified data in a 23-page report released later Wednesday. 
• Pfizer’s report is meant to brief the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, which meets Friday to review the request by Pfizer and its coronavirus vaccine partner, BioNTech, to approve Covid booster doses for the general public.

(Source: CNBC News)