Pfizer-BioNTech seek FDA authorization for 2nd COVID booster for older adults

Pfizer-BioNTech seek FDA authorization¹ for 2nd COVID booster for older adults

Transcript²

Pfizer says it will soon submit data on a fourth COVID shot to the Food and Drug Administration. What is the case for another booster, and is there a downside to the approach?

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Numbers from the CDC show nearly 67% of fully³ vaccinated⁴ people over the age of 65 have gotten a booster shot. Pfizer and BioNTech want the FDA to authorize⁵ yet another one for that age group. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein says the idea is to bolster⁶ waning⁷ immunity⁸.

ROB STEIN, BYLINE⁹: It's become clear that the protection people get from three shots fades over time, especially against catching¹⁰ the virus. And that's especially true with omicron, which is better at evading¹¹ the immune system than earlier versions of the virus. Now, you know, three shots still do a very good job of keeping most people from getting so sick they end up in a hospital or die, but there has been rising concern about those who are the most vulnerable, like the elderly. They tend to have weaker immune systems to start with, so some other countries have started giving older people yet another booster.

MARTINEZ: So what do you think? I mean, is the FDA likely to authorize another booster?

STEIN: You know, it really depends on how strong a case the agency thinks the companies are making. It's based on two studies from Israel that have produced some evidence that a fourth shot could help pump the immune system back up and restore some protection against getting seriously ill. I talked about this with Dr. Eric Topol at Scripps Research. He's convinced there's enough evidence to warrant another round of boosters.

ERIC TOPOL: We need to move on this because there are a large number of people who have lost their protection against severe illness from omicron and future variants¹³.

STEIN: So Topol thinks it's urgent to start making another booster available to the elderly, especially in case omicron starts to surge again or another dangerous variant¹² emerges.

MARTINEZ: But not everyone is as convinced as Dr. Topol.

STEIN: Yeah, that's right. That's right. Many experts I've been talking with basically say it may still be just too premature¹⁴ to start another round of boosters. They say the Israeli data is far from a slam dunk that another shot is necessarily needed and would necessarily help. Here's Dr. Jesse Goodman. He's a former FDA chief scientist who's now at Georgetown University.

JESSE GOODMAN: I think you'd want to have really convincing evidence that a second booster was needed and beneficial, and we just don't have that yet. I don't think we know that a booster will not ultimately be required generally, but I think we're just not there yet.

STEIN: And some experts I talked to say the country should focus instead on getting the millions of people who are still not vaccinated at all to get their shots and get boosters into the arms of the millions of vaccinated people who still haven't gotten their third shots. You know, only about two-thirds of those age 65 and older have gotten their third shots, their boosters.

MARTINEZ: All right, Rob, so what happens now?

STEIN: The FDA will consider the request and make a decision. You know, the agency could ask a committee of outside advisers¹⁵ to give advice, but it doesn't necessarily have to. And one possibility is that the FDA authorizes¹⁶ the fourth shot and then leaves it up to the CDC about whether to recommend it or, you know, just have it ready for whenever the evidence becomes clear it's really needed. The FDA is, however, planning to convene¹⁷ outside advisers next month to consider where we go from here with the vaccines¹⁹ more generally, including whether we need a broader booster campaign, perhaps in the fall, that would include younger people, too. They may also discuss whether those shots should be annual or, you know, the same vaccine¹⁸ or something else, like a vaccine targeted specifically at variants or maybe at, you know, protecting people against all coronaviruses.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Rob, thanks a lot.

STEIN: You bet.

1 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

5 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

6 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 waning   

adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• Her enthusiasm for the whole idea was waning rapidly. 她对整个想法的热情迅速冷淡了下来。
• The day is waning and the road is ending. 日暮途穷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

9 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

10 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

11 evading   

逃避( evade的现在分词 )； 避开； 回避； 想不出

参考例句：

• Segmentation of a project is one means of evading NEPA. 把某一工程进行分割，是回避《国家环境政策法》的一种手段。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Too many companies, she says, are evading the issue. 她说太多公司都在回避这个问题。

12 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

13 variants   

n.变体( variant的名词复数 )；变种；变型；（词等的）变体

参考例句：

• Those variants will be preserved in the'struggle for existence". 这些变异将在“生存竞争”中被保留下来。 来自辞典例句
• Like organisms, viruses have variants, generally called strains. 与其他生物一样，病毒也有变种，一般称之为株系。 来自辞典例句

14 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

15 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

16 authorizes   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings 'traveler' and 'traveller'. 字典裁定traveler和traveller两种拼法都对。
• The dictionary authorizes the two spellings "honor" and "honour.". 字典裁定 honor 及 honour 两种拼法均可。

17 convene   

v.集合，召集，召唤，聚集，集合

参考例句：

• The Diet will convene at 3p.m. tomorrow.国会将于明天下午三点钟开会。
• Senior officials convened in October 1991 in London.1991年10月，高级官员在伦敦会齐。

18 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

19 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。