Exclusive - EU regulator to decide on Pfizer booster at the start of October - source

FILE PHOTO: A vial labelled with the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is seen in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) expects to decide in early October on the possible use of a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

It will be the EU drugs regulator's first decision on boosters, the source said, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a third dose of Pfizer for those 65 and older, all people at high risk of severe disease, and others who are regularly exposed to the virus.