Top US health officials told the White House they may not have enough data to recommend COVID-19 booster shots for the wider general public by late September as President Joe Biden had anticipated, The New York Times reported on Friday.
According to the report, the government officials advised the White House on Thursday to scale back a plan to offer the booster shots to the general public later this month.
Sources familiar with the decision told The New York Times that the health officials said they needed more time to collect and review all the necessary data.
Last month, the Biden administration presented its plan to provide third doses of the coronavirus vaccines to Americans who want to receive them starting September 20.
Under the plan, people who were fully vaccinated the earliest, such as the elderly, will be the first to receive the booster shots. The booster shots apply to people who received either the Moderna or Pfizer coronavirus vaccines.
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized booster shots for transplant recipients or others with weakened immune systems.
Pfizer said recently it would be seeking US approval of a booster dose of its two-shot COVID-19 vaccine for everyone ages 16 and older.
The World Health Organization has criticized the booster campaigns, arguing that the vaccines should be reserved for poorer countries where many people have not yet even received one dose of a COVID vaccine.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)