The debate over COVID vaccine boosters is intensifying after federal health authorities authorized a third dose of the vaccine for immunocompromised people last week

CDC action heats up debate over vaccine boosters The debate over COVID vaccine boosters is intensifying after federal health authorities authorized a third dose of the vaccine for immunocompromised people last week. Nathaniel Weixel TheHill

Health experts said the decision made sense, but the move is likely to spur more confusion than clarity about the need for a booster dose. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration made clear they authorized a third dose, not a booster, because the shots are considered part of the primary vaccine series. According to officials, data increasingly show that some people with compromised immune systems do not get the full benefit after just two doses.

The CDC had a very narrow definition of who is immunocompromised: it includes people undergoing treatment for solid tumors or blood cancers; organ transplant patients, including those who have gotten a stem cell transplant within the last two years; and people with advanced or untreated HIV.