The Biden administration is prepared to announce its decision to give most Americans COVID-19 vaccine booster shots eight months after an individual has received the second dose, CNN reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the discussions at the White House. This decision follows Israel’s move to vaccinate its citizens aged 50 and older, as well as healthcare workers, and early, encouraging results.
Preliminary data from Israel’s Health Ministry show that people who received the third-dose vaccine are 2.5 times more resistant to infection one week later than those with two-dose vaccines.
Both Pfizer and BioNTech submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration data supporting the use of a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer issued a statement on Monday, saying, “Given the high levels of immune responses observed, a booster dose given within 6 to 12 months after the primary vaccination schedule may help maintain a high level of protection against COVID-19.”
An independent panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday recommended third doses of coronavirus vaccine for people with weakened immune systems and supported the FDA’s decision to authorize booster shots for this population.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday morning that the Biden administration will likely announce this week the decision on a nationwide 3rd dose. They hope that the third shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines will offer additional protection against the Delta variant which is causing a new surge of the pandemic. Recipients of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also receive an additional dose, following the results of Johnson & Johnson’s two-dose clinical trial which are expected later this month.
In the coming weeks, the FDA is expected to give its full approval to the Pfizer vaccine, which to date has only received an emergency use authorization. This will allow Pfizer to offer the booster to millions of Americans who have received two vaccine doses.
According to the NY Times, the first booster vaccines will be given starting in mid-September to nursing home residents, health care workers, and emergency workers. Next in line are senior citizens, to be followed by the general population.
According to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center, the US has suffered 13,750 deaths from the coronavirus over the past 28 days, with the total number of Corona deaths standing at 622,321. There have been 2,756,671 cases of verified Corona patients in the US over the past 28 days.
Altogether, 356,249,504 vaccine shots have been administered in the US, out of which only 14,538,326 were given over the past 28 days.