COVID booster shots should be ready in September, health officials say
COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are expected to be available to adults in the US starting in late September – with health-care workers, nursing-home residents and other elderly people first in line, health officials said Wednesday.
The plan laid out by the Biden administration calls for a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine eight months after recipients’ second jab, pending an independent evaluation by the Food and Drug Administration.
People who received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine will also “likely” need a booster shot as well, although additional data is needed, health officials said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to roll out the booster-shot program the week of Sept. 20, said Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky — while citing new data showing a decrease in vaccine effectiveness over time against mild and moderate infections.
“We are concerned that the current strong protection against severe infection, hospitalization and death could decrease in the months ahead — especially among those who are at higher risk or who were vaccinated earlier,” Walensky warned at a White House COVID briefing. “In the context of these concerns, we are planning for Americans to receive booster shots.”
A new study of 10 million New Yorkers shows vaccine effectiveness plunged from 92 percent to 80 percent from May to July, Walensky said. A separate national study of nursing homes found that vaccine protection dropped from 75 to 53 percent among patients, according to the study.
The effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against warding off the virus’s highly contagious Delta variant also decreased from 76 to 42 percent in recent months, while Moderna decreased from 86 to 76 percent, the CDC director added, citing a Mayo Clinic study of more than 80,000 people across the US.
International data, including from Israel, also shows a decrease in protection among those vaccinated early, health officials said.
Booster shots are “the best way to protect ourselves from new variants that could arise,” President Biden later said in a speech.
“It will make you safer, and for longer, and it will help us end the pandemic faster,” he said of a third shot. “This is no time to let our guard down. We just need to finish the job with science, with facts, and with confidence.”
Officials highlighted that vaccine protection against severe infections that require hospitalization remains “relatively high,” at 92 to 95 percent effective.
But Dr. Anthony Fauci noted studies showing antibody protection against the virus surges “by tenfold” with a booster shot.
“You want to stay ahead of the virus,” Fauci said at the earlier press conference with other national health leaders. “You don’t want to find yourself behind playing catch up.”
Overall, an increase in mild to moderate infections generally begins around 6 months after vaccination, US Surgeon General Vivek Hallegere Murthy said at the Wednesday briefing.
Under the booster-shot rollout plan, the third shots would be delivered to the first populations that got vaccinated — higher-risk groups such as health-care workers, nursing-home residents and the elderly.
“Individuals who were fully vaccinated earliest in the vaccination rollout, including many health care providers, nursing home residents and other seniors will likely be eligible for a booster,” said the CDC, federal Department of Health and Human Services and several other government health agencies in a joint statement Wednesday.
The health officials stressed that the vaccines authorized in the US are still “remarkably effective” against COVID-19 in reducing risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death, including against the raging Delta variant.
But many vaccines have a reduction in protection over time and available data makes it “very clear” that US health officials are “starting to see evidence of reduced protection” against mild and moderate disease, they said.
“Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout,” US health officials said. “For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.”
The plan could be modified if new information emerges, officials said.
“Our top priority remains staying ahead of the virus and protecting the American people from COVID-19 with safe, effective, and long-lasting vaccines especially in the context of a constantly changing virus and epidemiologic landscape,” the joint statement continued.
COVID-19 has killed more than 623,000 people in the US and more than 4.3 million people globally, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Wednesday’s statement, attributed to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several other federal agency administrators, also stressed the “ongoing urgency” for unvaccinated Americans to get their shots.
“Nearly all the cases of severe disease, hospitalization, and death continue to occur among those not yet vaccinated at all,” health officials said. “We will continue to ramp up efforts to increase vaccinations here at home and to ensure people have accurate information about vaccines from trusted sources.”
