FDA okays boosters (for some)

Plus, the US special envoy to Haiti quits over deportations. The FDA approves booster shots for adults over 65 and other at-risk groups; US special envoy to Haiti resigns over deportations to "collapsed" state. Tonight's Sentences was written by Ellen Ioanes TOP NEWS FDA and CDC back third Pfizer shot for some groups Jens Schlueter/Getty Images - The FDA announced Wednesday that it has approved the use of Pfizer/BioNTech boosters for Americans 65 and older and those at higher risk of serious illness from Covid-19, six months after they received their second shot. [[FDA](] - A CDC advisory panel on Thursday gave most of the same recommendations. But it favored a more limited approach to third shots for essential workers and younger people who have underlying health conditions. [[New York Times](] - Both agencies' booster endorsements are less expansive than President Joe Biden's initially announced plans. However, the recommendations still include tens of millions of Americans. The administration — and Pfizer — had argued that boosters would combat initial doses’ efficacy waning over time, especially given the highly contagious delta variant’s dominance. [[NYT](] - Recent data suggests some efficacy waning for the Pfizer vaccine compared to the Moderna vaccine, although experts disagree on whether the difference is substantial. [[Apoorva Mandavilli / NYT](] - The FDA’s panel of advisers found that available evidence overwhelmingly suggested that two Pfizer vaccine shots still protected most vaccinated people from serious illness, hospitalization, and death. [[STAT / Helen Branswell](] - The Biden administration had planned a near-universal rollout of the booster on September 20. Some people, like those with severely weakened immune systems, have already received a booster, but the broader campaign has been put on hold. [[CNBC / Jacob Pramuk](] - Regulatory bodies have not yet made recommendations on boosters for Americans who received either the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. [[WSJ / Felicia Schwartz and Jared S. Hopkins](] - The people most at risk for serious illness, hospitalization, and death from Covid-19 remain those who are unvaccinated. [[WP / Lena H. Sun and Joel Achenbach](]  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Diplomat to Haiti quits over “inhumane” US policy - Ambassador Daniel Foote, the US special envoy for Haiti, [resigned on Wednesday](, citing the Biden administration’s “inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti.” [[Reuters](] - The administration has been subject to widespread criticism for continuing deportation flights to the country, which has been rocked by natural disasters, violence, political crises, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. [[PBS / Yamiche Alcindor](] - Photos of Texas border guards on horseback swinging lariats and trying to block the path of Haitian migrants trying to cross into the US prompted a horrified response from immigration advocates, as well as politicians. Horse patrols have been suspended at the border as of Thursday. [[USA Today / Matthew Brown and Rick Rouan](] - Thousands of Haitian migrants sheltering in Del Rio, Texas, had been subject to mass deportation flights last week under Title 42, a Trump-era policy allowing the government to deport people to limit the spread of Covid-19. Some Haitians have reportedly been released into the US with orders to appear in immigration court in the next 60 days. [[AP / Elliot Spagat, Maria Verza, Juan A. Lozano, and Sarah Blake Morgan](] - Foote, who was appointed to his post in July after the assassination of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, warned of further immigration crises if the US did not assist Haiti in stabilizing its government and provide humanitarian aid. [[The Miami Herald / Jacqueline Charles and Michael Wilner](] Support our journalism "Vox Sentences is my morning cup of reality. The daily updates are succinct, relevant, and clever, and they have become my go-to source for more in-depth coverage". —Woody, Vox contributor [Give]( MISCELLANEOUS The US House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve $1 billion in spending on Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, despite objections from progressive legislators like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). [[CBS / Melissa Quinn](] - Serhiy Sefir, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, survived an assassination attempt just outside Kyiv on Wednesday; no culprit or motive has been identified, but police and politicians believe the attempt could be due to the administration’s crackdown on corruption. [[WP / Robyn Dixon](] - The New York City Council will pass legislation protecting the rights of delivery workers, who have organized as Los Deliveristas Unidos, to benefits including minimum pay and bathroom breaks. [[The City / Josefa Velasquez and Claudia Irizarry Aponte](] - Congressional Democrats say they have reached an agreement with the White House on a “framework” to pay for Biden’s proposed $3.5 trillion spending bill, which has caused infighting between progressives and centrists. [[BuzzFeed / Paul McLeod](] VERBATIM “By returning these illegally acquired objects, the authorities here in the United States and in Iraq are allowing the Iraqi people to reconnect with a page in their history.” [[UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on the return of a 3,500-year-old Sumerian tablet by Hobby Lobby's founder to the Iraqi government](] WATCH THIS How decades of stopping forest fires made them worse. Can burning forest on our own terms help mitigate the damage? [Watch the third of five videos we're releasing on the climate crisis and subscribe to your YouTube channel, so you don't miss what's next. [YouTube]]( Read more from Vox [The Afghan refugee crisis has revealed the artificial limits of America’s will to welcome]( [Florida’s mysterious Covid-19 surge]( [How MLMs took advantage of the pandemic]( [The largest space telescope in history is about to blow our minds]( [The biggest obstacle to passing Democrats’ health care agenda](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 11, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved.