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 U.S. officials will offer a third shot to Americans who received
their initial inoculation of two-dose COVID-19 vaccines made by
Moderna Inc and by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech AG at least eight months
earlier, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a
statement
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/
2021/08/18/joint-statement-hhs-public-health-and-medical-experts-covid-19-booster-shots.html.
"It’s the best way to protect ourselves from new variants that may
arise," U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House.
"It will make you safer and for longer. It will help end this
pandemic faster."
The U.S. government expects to give out 100 million booster shots
for free at around 80,000 locations nationwide, Biden said.
Initial booster doses will be given to Americans who received
two-dose vaccines, but officials said they anticipate that people
given Johnson & Johnson's shot, authorized in the United States in
February, will also need boosters.
"You want to get out ahead of the virus," Anthony Fauci, President
Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, told reporters. "If you wait for
something bad to happen before you respond to it, you find you're
considerably behind your real full capability of being responsive."
The booster shots, officials said, initially will focus on
healthcare workers, nursing home residents and older people - among
the first groups to be vaccinated in late 2020 and early 2021.
The news drew support from both U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who said he "absolutely"
planned to get a third shot.
Shares of Pfizer rose around 1.65% in midday trading. Moderna shares
dropped around 2.8% and J&J fell 0.5%.
There is mounting evidence that protection from COVID-19 vaccines
wanes after six or more months, especially in older people with
underlying health conditions. The officials cited this in their
decision on boosters, but stressed that the U.S.-authorized shots
have proven "remarkably effective" in reducing the risk of severe
disease, hospitalizations and deaths.
More than a million Americans sought an extra vaccine dose before
the official decision on boosters was announced, according to
federal data. U.S. officials previously authorized a third dose of
the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for people with weak immune
systems.
The U.S. announcement defies guidance from the World Health
Organization, whose chief scientist said current data does not
indicate the need for booster shots.
In recent weeks, several other countries have decided to offer
booster shots to older adults and people with weak immune systems,
including Israel, Germany and France. European Union officials said
on Wednesday they do not yet see a need to give booster shots to the
general population.
[to top of second column] |
 U.S. officials do not expect a serious uptick in
hospitalizations and deaths among vaccinated
people until at least eight months after their
initial inoculation, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek
Murthy said.
A new study conducted in New York and cited by
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
chief Rochelle Walensky found that COVID-19
vaccine effectiveness dropped from around 92% in
May to around 80% more recently.
Vaccines are generally less effective against
the Delta variant now dominant in the United
States, Walensky added, citing a study of U.S.
nursing homes showing a 53% rate of vaccine
effectiveness against Delta.
DELTA VARIANT CONCERNS
The United States leads the world in reported
COVID-19 cases and deaths, with around 500
Americans dying daily. Daily U.S. cases soared
from fewer than 10,000 in early July to more
than 150,000 in August as the Delta variant took
hold.
The new cases include vaccinated people, though
they are far less likely to experience severe
disease or death than the unvaccinated.
A new study by an Israeli healthcare provider
https://www.reuters.com/
business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/third-pfizer-dose-86-effective-over-60s-israeli-hmo-says-2021-08-18
found a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech shot
is 86% effective in people over age 60. It
followed another Israeli study that showed
evidence of waning immunity from COVID-19
vaccines in the months after inoculation.
World Health Organization officials contend that
vaccine doses should first go to people in
poorer countries who have yet to receive an
initial inoculation.
"We are planning to hand out extra life jackets
to people who already have life jackets, while
we are leaving other people to drown without a
single life jacket. That's the reality," Mike
Ryan, WHO's chief emergency expert, told a news
conference, referring to booster shots.
Biden said the administration has been planning
for boosters for months and the recommendation
will not diminish its vaccine donations abroad,
amounting to about 200 million shots over the
coming months.
The U.S. booster plan is dependent on the Food
and Drug Administration determining that a third
dose of the two-dose vaccines is safe and
effective, and a favorable recommendation from
CDC advisers.
(Reporting by Carl O'Donnell in New York and
Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington; additional
reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Susan Heavey in
Washington, D.C., Francesco Guarascio in
Brussels and Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva;
Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCool)
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