A COVID Green Pass will be required for all workers in Italy, in both private and public sectors, beginning Oct. 15, the government announced Thursday.

The Green Pass proves a person is vaccinated, has recovered from COVID-19 or has had a negative test in the last two days.

Employees who go to work without the pass face a five-day suspension without pay.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

An FDA advisory panel will convene in open session Friday to debate the latest booster shot data submitted by Pfizer, and following a non-binding vote, the FDA is expected to formally amend its current vaccine approval for Pfizer.

Opening remarks are set for 8:30 a.m. ET. That's followed by introductions by the FDA, presentations from CDC representatives, discussion of booster protection and a presentation from Pfizer.

After a public hearing portion in the afternoon and a Q&A on the Pfizer and FDA presentations, the committee is expected to debate the issue for about two hours. A vote is expected at about 4:45 p.m. ET.

Next week, the matter heads to the CDC’s independent advisory panel whose members will discuss who should get a booster and when.

-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik

Booster shots are now being administered in England.

Eligible people must be six months out from their last shot and include: adults ages 50 and over; people in residential care homes; frontline health care workers; social workers; people who are immunocompromised; and caregivers for the immunocompromised.

About 4.5 million people will be eligible for a booster in the next few weeks.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Pope Francis said Wednesday he found it "ironic" that a cardinal who was not vaccinated against COVID-19 had been hospitalized with the virus.

Speaking to reporters on his plane while returning to Rome after visiting Hungary and Slovakia, Francis discussed the hesitancy against COVID-19 vaccines and how it has divided people.

"It's strange because humanity has a friendly relationship with vaccines," the pope said. "As children, we got them for measles, for other things, for polio. All the children were vaccinated, and no one said anything. Then this happened."

"Even in the College of Cardinals, there are some anti-vaxxers," he added, "and one of them, poor man, is in hospital with the virus. But life is ironic."

Although Francis didn't identify the man by name, it appeared he was referring to American Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the Catholic church's most outspoken conservatives who eschewed the COVID-19 vaccine and spent days on a ventilator after contracting the virus in August.

Francis noted that everyone in the Vatican, "except for a small group," has been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The FDA advisory panel on Friday voted 18-0 in favor of booster shots for anyone 65 and older or anyone at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19.

If the FDA agrees with the plan, which is likely, it’s possible that booster shots would roll out as early as next week to these populations. The CDC would weigh in first though with more specific recommendations on who exactly should take the third shots.

The 18-0 vote comes after the members voted "no" on the question of whether the current data supports a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine for anyone 16 and older.