The U.S. will reportedly approve booster shots for all 3 COVID-19 vaccines at 6 months, not 8
U.S. officials said last week that adults vaccinated with the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines should start getting booster shots eight months after their second dose was administered, starting in mid-September. Now, a person familiar with the plans tells The Wall Street Journal, federal regulators will likely approve boosters for all three approved vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson — starting six months after inoculation.
Data the Food and Drug Administration is reviewing from vaccine makers and other countries is based on boosters given at six months, the Journal reports. "The Biden administration and companies have said that there should be enough supply for boosters that they plan to begin distributing more widely on Sept. 20. The U.S. has purchased a combined 1 billion doses from Pfizer and Moderna."
The booster rollout for adults who aren't immunocompromised hinges on FDA approval and a recommendation from a key Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outside vaccine advisory committee. Preliminary studies show significant boosts to immune protections, but "that doesn't mean every patient needs to get a booster at six months," says Leana Wen, health policy professor at George Washington University.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There is some evidence that the vaccines lose some potency after several months and the Delta variant of the coronavirus has infected more vaccinated people than previous strains, although most breakthrough infections are mild.
The discussions about booster shots comes as the U.S. has more than 100,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, a level last seen on Jan. 30, before the vaccines were widely available, The Washington Post reports. Nearly a third of those hospitalizations are in Florida (17,000) and Texas (14,000), states with lower-than-average vaccination rates, large populations, and governors opposed to vaccine and mask requirements. The number of new daily cases is also almost back up to January levels — an average of 148,000 cases on Wednesday versus 151,000 on Jan. 30 — but COVID-19 deaths, 1,1000 a day, are much lower than the daily average of 3,100 recorded at the January peak.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Quiz of The Week: 16 - 22 November
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Firing shells, burning ballots, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
Damian Barr shares his favourite books
The Week Recommends The writer and broadcaster picks works by Alice Walker, Elif Shafak and others
By The Week UK Published
-
ACA opens 2025 enrollment, enters 2024 race
Speed Read Mike Johnson promises big changes to the Affordable Care Act if Trump wins the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
McDonald's sued over E. coli linked to burger
Speed Read The outbreak has sickened at least 49 people in 10 states and left one dead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Israel, UN agree to Gaza pauses for polio vaccinations
Speed Read Gaza's first case of polio in 25 years was confirmed last week in a 10-month-old boy who is now partially paralyzed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
WHO declares mpox a global health emergency
Speed Read An outbreak of the viral disease formerly known as monkeypox continues to spread in Africa
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Have we defeated malaria?
The Explainer Roll-out of low-cost vaccine means a world free from disease that claims 600,000 lives a year 'finally within sight'
By The Week UK Published
-
Roll-out of affordable malaria vaccine begins
Speed Read R21 is approved for babies and may save hundreds of thousands of lives
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published