Coronavirus Watch: Booster shots could be available to all adults by weekend

It's possible COVID-19 booster shots could be available to all fully-vaccinated adults by this weekend.

The Food and Drug Administration may authorize Pfizer-BioNTech boosters for all American adults by Thursday, the New York Times reported.

The move would pave the way for approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An expert panel that advises the CDC is expected to meet Friday to discuss allowing extra doses for all adults, and the CDC's official recommendation could come soon afterward.

Some jurisdictions – including California, Colorado, New Mexico and New York City – have already endorsed boosters for all adults.

Remember: The CDC has already endorsed boosters for specific groups of people, who may choose which of the three COVID-19 vaccines to receive as a booster. Those groups include:

• People who received a second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna at least six months ago and are over 65, are younger adults at high risk for severe COVID-19 or whose jobs or living conditions put them at high risk for infection.
• Adults who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least two months ago.

It's Wednesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news to know:

• A total of 22 states are challenging the Biden administration's vaccine mandate in court. A suit filed Monday in Louisiana on behalf of 12 states challenges the mandate for health care workers. The suit follows another filed in Missouri representing 10 states.
• A physician has resigned from Houston Methodist, days after the hospital suspended her and accused her of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on social media.
• Michigan catapulted Tuesday to the worst COVID-19 hot spot in the nation, according to CDC data. Cases are rising in 33 states, a Paste BN analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. Cases for the week ending Monday were up 15% from a recent low in the week ending Oct. 26.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 47.3 million COVID-19 cases and 766,200 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 254.7 million cases and more than 5.1 million deaths. About 69% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 59% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 82% have received at least one shot, and about 71% are fully vaccinated.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck