EU drugs regulator says to decide on Pfizer vaccine booster in early October

FILE PHOTO: Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine are pictured in a vaccination centre in Geneva, Switzerland, February 3, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

(Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will likely decide in early October whether to endorse a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be given half a year after the initial two-shot course.

"The outcome of this evaluation is expected in early October, unless supplementary information is needed," the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) head vaccines strategy, Marco Cavaleri, told a press briefing on Thursday.