The final vote passed unanimously on an 18 to 0 vote. An initial vote on broader third doses in those age 16 and older failed 16 to 2, based on questions about safety and whether third doses would do much to decrease transmission.

The nonbinding decision from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) will influence how the White House rolls out booster doses next week, part of stepped-up efforts to tamp down the nation's Delta (B1617.2) variant surge.

The booster dose would be given 6 months after receiving the second dose. In the middle of August, federal health officials approved a third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised. Some developed countries such as Israel and the United Kingdom have already launched third doses across broad parts of their populations.