U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel could vote on the use of a third shot of Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech SE's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, an agency official said while kicking off the two-day panel discussion on Wednesday.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is meeting on Sept 22-23 to discuss which Americans should get the third vaccine shot, should it be authorized for use by the Food and Drug Administration.

Pfizer has asked the FDA to approve the third shot for all people aged 16 and over, but a panel of outside advisors to the FDA last Friday said there was only evidence for a shot being needed by people aged 65 and older. The FDA has not yet said how it plans to proceed.

(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru) ((manojna.kalyani@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8061822700;))