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Pfizer and BioNTech have asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize their COVID-19 booster shot to all people 18 and older. The companies say the request is based on results from a study of more than 10,000 volunteers that show vaccine efficacy of 95% or greater for people receiving the booster. (Palca, 11/9)

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant the request, perhaps before Thanksgiving and well ahead of Christmas travel and gatherings. The prospect of all 181 million fully vaccinated adults in the nation having access to extra shots is a turnaround from two months ago, when an expert advisory committee to the F.DA. overwhelmingly recommended against Pfizer-BioNTech’s request to authorize boosters for all adult recipients of that vaccine. (LaFraniere, 11/9)

A third dose of the vaccine, which was developed with German partner BioNTech, has already been authorized by the FDA for elderly people and at-risk adults six months after they complete their primary series of shots. Booster shots of Moderna’s vaccine have also been cleared for the same groups as Pfizer’s while a second shot of Johnson & Johnson’s has already been cleared for all adults. More than 25 million Americans have received an additional dose of one of the three vaccines as of Monday, according to data compiled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Lovelace Jr., 11/9)

Canada’s health agency authorized booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine nationwide on Tuesday, broadening eligibility to anyone over the age of 18, regardless of what vaccine they received initially. Health Canada, the federal department responsible for approving drugs, and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization had previously updated vaccine guidelines in September to recommend booster shots for seniors living in congregate settings and for people with compromised immune systems. (Isai, 11/9)