Just like Fauci told a noble lie to conserve PPE, officials overseeing booster decisions almost certainly fudged the science in the service of an ulterior motive: getting vaccines to poorer countries.

Just like saving PPE for doctors and nurses, this is a legitimately good goal. Poorer countries should have been getting a larger share of vaccines from the start. But it’s not the business of public health bureaucrats to decide where vaccines are allocated (that’s for elected officials to decide), and it’s especially not their business to try to steer policy by lying to the public.

Fudging the science did not, in fact, help poorer countries get more doses — but it certainly delayed booster distribution here. After weeks of argument and pressure, the CDC finally approved boosters for all adults in late November, yet it only recommended them for people over 50, ignoring research which recommends their universal use.