US President Joe Biden received a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot on Monday, the White House said.

American health authorities have recommended boosters for three categories of people: those 65 and older, those 18-64 with an underlying medical condition such as diabetes or obesity, and those who are especially exposed to the virus because of their work or where they live.

About 60 million people in the United States are eligible for a Pfizer booster shot, Biden said last week.

Biden received his first Pfizer dose last December and a second in January, when he was still president-elect.

He said people who have received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccinations could get booster shots once studies have been completed and he expected that all Americans would be eligible "in the near term."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that data on Moderna and J&J boosters would be evaluated "in the coming weeks."

Biden had wanted to launch a mass campaign of Pfizer and Moderna booster shots this week for all Americans.
But the move was put on hold by the US health authorities, dividing medical experts and triggering confusion about booster policy.

The CDC on Friday overruled its own panel of health experts to back Pfizer booster shots for individuals at high risk of exposure to Covid-19 because of their jobs.