The U.S. government top infectious disease expert said Sunday that “it is entirely conceivable, perhaps likely” that Americans will need a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the coming months, but stressed that it’s still too early for the government to recommend another dose.
Dr Anthony Fauci, who is President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did the right thing by not supporting the claim of the drugmaker Pfizer, which seeks to have a booster administered after the two shots of its vaccine within the next 12 months.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci says Covid-19 vaccine booster shots are currently not needed. "Given the data and the information we have, we do not need to give people a third shot."
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) July 11, 2021
Adding, there are studies being done now to determine "if and when we should be boosting people." #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/rsKMaGEUFS
On Thursday, Pfizer said it planned to apply to the government for authorization to administer the third dose, but on the same day the CDC and FDA said they did not consider a booster necessary “at this time.”
Fauci said clinical studies and laboratory data have not yet fully demonstrated the need for a booster dose of current US-licensed COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, which requires at least two shots, or Johnson & Johnson – a single shot vaccine.
“Right now, given the data and information we have, we don’t need to give people a third chance,” the official said.
“That doesn’t mean we stop there. … Studies are currently underway as we talk about the feasibility of whether and when we should stimulate people.”
He noted that it is quite possible that in the coming months “as the data evolves,” the government could urge reinforcement based on factors such as age and underlying medical conditions.
“It’s certainly totally conceivable, maybe likely at some point, that we need a reinforcement,” Fauci said.
Currently, only 48% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. Some parts of the country have lower vaccination rates, and those sites are where the delta variant of the coronavirus is on the rise.
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Last week, Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said that’s leading to “two truths”: Highly immunized swaths of America are returning to normal, while hospitalizations are rising elsewhere.
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