Plan to Dispense Covid-19 Booster Shots Announced Today to Increase Public Protection As Delta Variant Surges
Outlined by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a new plan for booster shots was announced today, calling for a third dose eight months after receiving a second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The new doses are expected to be available by Sept. 20.
People who received the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would also need to get a booster shot, but health officials are waiting on more data before giving an official prognosis. All booster shots would need to be evaluated by both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a CDC advisory panel before being recommended.
As the highly contagious and infectious Delta variant continues to spread rapidly across the country, vaccines have been losing ground proven by numerous studies.
“Our plan is to protect the American people, to stay ahead of this virus.”
The announcement came after officials stated that vaccine protection has been proven to weaken over time. Noting the worsening situation in Israel among many people who have already been inoculated, officials pointed out that it was important that the U.S. get ahead of the problem before the situation got worse where there is an increase in hospitalizations and deaths among the already vaccinated.
“We have a responsibility to give the maximum amount of protection.”
The federal government has also required that nursing homes issue a mandatory vaccination for all staff in order to keep receiving federal funds, to thus protect elderly residents as many workers still remain unvaccinated despite the high risks.
First boosters would be available to people in high priority groups such as nursing home residents, health workers and individuals with underlying health conditions. Boosters should also be the same brand of vaccine originally received. Earlier this month, U.S. health officials had already recommended a third shot for people with weaker immune systems such as cancer patients and organ transplant recipients.
“Part of leadership is being able to see around the corner and make hard decisions without having all the data. It seems to me that’s what they’re doing here.”
By adding boosters, the government would be expanding its already massive vaccination campaign. Approximately 200 million Americans have received at least one vaccine shot.
Variants like the Delta variant have caused major concern among scientists about the effectiveness of vaccines to stop virus mutations, who aim to answer the question as data comes in. Data from analyzing reported COVID-19 infections in residents of nearly 15,000 nursing homes and other long-term care facilities revealed that both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are less effective now, falling from 74% in March to 53% by July. Another study in New York State showed that vaccines protected against hospitalizations by 95% during a three-month period but effectiveness against new variants declined from 92% in early May to 80% by late July. A Mayo Clinic data report from Minnesota about patients showed that Moderna’s vaccines was 76% effective against the Delta variant, while Pfizer’s was 42%.
As vaccine protection is expected to wane over time, officials estimated an eight-month timeframe for protection.
The Delta variant has worsened conditions across the country, leading to packed emergency rooms in the South and West, with 140,000 cases per day on average, skyrocketing four times higher than just a month ago. Covid-19 has killed over 620,000 Americans.