We dug into Pfizer's case for COVID-19 booster shots

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and today in healthcare news:

• We dug into Pfizer's case for COVID-19 booster shots;
• Inside China's quiet growth into a biotech powerhouse;
• What a massive study from Israel can tell us about about the risk of severe COVID-19 in older adults after a third shot.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at lramsey@insider.com or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it...

FDA releases documents outlining Pfizer's case for COVID-19 booster shots

• The FDA released documents Wednesday giving a look at Pfizer's case for COVID-19 booster shots.
• The data shows a third dose of Pfizer's shot raised antibody levels with no major safety concerns.
• An expert panel will make recommendations to the FDA on booster shots on Friday.

Here's what you need to know>>

How China quietly grew into a biotech powerhouse that will shape the future of the drug industry

• China's biotech industry has surged in recent years following regulatory and stock-market changes.
• These biotechs have opened US headquarters and received FDA approval for new cancer treatments.
• They will "be global competitors, and there may be global implications," a noted investor said.

Get the full story>>

A massive study from Israel suggests older adults were far less likely to develop severe COVID-19 after a booster shot, but the finding carries major limitations

• A third dose of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine dramatically reduces the risk of infection and severe illness for older adults, a new study found.
• A team of researchers in Israel published the findings Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
• Still, an expert urged caution on interpreting the findings, saying the study has major limitations.

Find out more>>

More stories we're reading:

• The most common side effects to expect after your Pfizer booster: headache, fatigue, and pain at the injection site (Insider)
• A boy's appendix burst while waiting hours at a COVID-19-swamped ER (ProPublica)
• Beyond COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA's pioneers have big plans for using the technology against a range of diseases (Insider)
• 1 in 500 people in the US have died from COVID-19 (CNN)

- Lydia