The FDA approved Covid-19 booster shots for people with weakened immune systems, protecting some of the most vulnerable Americans from the highly contagious delta variant.
According to acting FDA Commissioner Dr Janet Woodcock, the action allows doctors to boost immunity in immunocompromised patients who need extra protection from COVID-19.
Organ transplant recipients and other immunocompromised individuals may receive a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, the agency stated. Additionally, the FDA emphasized that other fully vaccinated individuals are “adequately protected” and do not require an additional dose at this time.
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The FDA’s approval is not final. The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee has scheduled a meeting for Friday to discuss shots for immunocompromised Americans. Third shots could begin immediately if they make a recommendation that is approved by the CDC.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical advisor, said last week that federal health officials were expediting regulatory efforts to approve third doses for such individuals, including cancer and HIV patients, as well as those who have received organ transplants. He stated that new data indicated that they do not generate an adequate immune response following two doses of the Covid vaccine.
“Immunocompromised individuals are vulnerable,” Fauci said Thursday.
“It is extremely important for us to move to get those individuals their boosters, and we are now working on that, and we will make that be implemented as quickly as possible. … It is a very high priority.”
These individuals account for approximately 2.7 percent of the adult population in the United States but account for approximately 44 percent of hospitalized Covid breakthrough cases, which occur when a fully vaccinated individual becomes infected, according to recent data from a CDC advisory group.
Studies suggest that a third vaccine shot might help patients whose immune systems don’t respond as well to a first or second dose.
Some studies recommend a third dose of the vaccine may benefit patients whose immune systems do not respond as well to the first or second dose.
The CDC cited four small studies last month that found that between 16% and 80% of people with weakened immune systems did not have detectable antibodies to fight Covid after two shots. According to the CDC, among vaccinated patients who had no detectable antibody response, between 33% and 50% developed an antibody response after receiving an additional dose.
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