Gottlieb: FDA Board's Worries on Vaccines For Youths 'Moot'

Members of an FDA advisory panel who voted against emergency use authorization for Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine because of lack of evidence concerning younger patients made their choice over "kind of a moot point," former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said Friday. 

"This vaccine isn't going to be eligible for 16-and-17-year-olds for quite some time. We have known that for months," Gottlieb, a member of the boards of Pfizer and biotech company Illumina, as well as a CNBC contributor, said on the network's "Squawk Box." "It's kind of a moot point with respect to the fact that the EUA might be issued for that age cohort because it's not going to be available to the full range of that age cohort for quite some time."

Dr. Archana Chatterjee, dean of the Chicago Medical School, who was one of four advisory board members voting against the EUA, told CNN Thursday night she is "fully supportive" of the vaccine for people over 18 years of age but she's concerned about its effects on younger recipients. 

But with the vaccine earmarked for older users at the beginning, younger recipients will probably be eligible for the vaccine once it becomes fully licensed by spring or summer, said Gottlieb. 

"It would have been good if the panel members were given an opportunity, I believe, to explain their votes," he said. "That way we have more understanding clarity insight into what their misgivings were.

Meanwhile, the Pfizer vaccine requires two doses for full effectiveness, but Gottlieb said he thinks an effort should be made to at least get as many people at least the first dose. 

"I don't think we should be stockpiling vaccine and not distributing it," said Gottlieb. "If you have 40 million doses in December, you don't distribute 20 million and put 20 million on the shelf. I think you distribute 35 million and put 5 million on the shelf. You might have to reserve a little bit to make sure you have a bridge between the first dose and the second dose. You also need to take a little bit of risk and lean forward and hope the manufacturing keeps up."

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