COVID-19 booster discussions have led to a 'communications crisis' and 'nonstop' phone calls


The back-and-forth on COVID-19 booster shots among the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and their advisory panels amounts to a "communications crisis," Robert Murphy, the executive director of the Institute for Global Health at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told The Washington Post.
Many Americans seem like they aren't sure if they're eligible for a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (the only one of the three available shots that's received formal discussions on boosters) because of hard-to-follow guidance from public health officials — first, the CDC advisory panel narrowed the FDA panel's initial recommendation, and then CDC Director Rochelle Walensky overruled that, broadening it again.
The situation, though, has led to a deluge of phone calls to healthcare providers at the local level. For instance, a customer service representative for Primary Health clinics in southwestern Idaho told the Post "the calls seem pretty nonstop." David Peterman, Primary Health's chief executive, said in light of the booster confusion "we went from 40,000 phone calls daily to 80,000," prompting him to ask staffers to take extra shifts.
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.
Jay A. Winsten, the founding director of the Center for Health Communications at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, thinks the solution should come from the top. While the FDA and CDC have a lot of experts in the health and science fields, "what's missing from the equation are communication experts," Winsten said, adding that "they need a seat at the table." Read more at The Washington Post.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreak
Speed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agency
Speed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Cytomegalovirus can cause permanent birth defects
The Explainer The virus can show no symptoms in adults
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year high
Speed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots