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Two top FDA officials who are leaving the agency later this year publicly waded into the debate on Monday, splitting from the agency and arguing in a scientific journal that it was too soon to give booster shots to the general public since the vaccines still offer strong protection against serious disease.

Both are scheduled to attend Friday's discussion. One of them, the director of the agency's office of vaccines research and review, is supposed to give an overarching introduction of the topic for the FDA in the beginning of the day.

Also joining Friday's meeting is the head of Israel's public health services, Dr. Sharon Alroy Preis, who is set to present data on booster protection against COVID infection and severe disease.

In a review of Pfizer's data, also released Wednesday, the FDA appeared to be noncommittal on the necessity for boosters. The agency pointed out that Pfizer's efficacy data could be hampered by the limitations of studying boosters in real-world situations, which can introduce complicating factors.

\"PHOTO:
Matt Rourke/AP
PHOTO: A syringe is prepared with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at the Reading Area Community College in Reading, Pa., Sept. 14, 2021.
>

\"There are many po­ten­tial­ly rel­e­vant stud­ies, but FDA has not in­de­pen­dent­ly re­viewed or ver­i­fied the un­der­ly­ing da­ta or their con­clu­sions,\" the agency wrote in its briefing.

Naming no one -- but nodding to those lingering concerns -- Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla penned an open letter on Thursday making the case for booster shots.

\"This week we are approaching another pivotal moment in our ongoing fight against the virus,\" Bourla writes of Friday's FDA advisory committee. \"Since the start of this pandemic, Pfizer and BioNTech have pledged to follow the science and keep people informed about our progress to help bring an end to this global health crisis. We have stayed true to our commitment of full transparency without selectively cherry-picking data.\"

ABC News' Sony Salzman, Eric M. Strauss and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.

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