Federal health officials are expected to recommend vaccine boosters for most Americans eight months after their second dose to maintain high levels of protection against COVID-19, according to multiple reports this morning.
The announcement could come as soon as this week.
The plan is expected to start with those who received two-dose vaccines, either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna. Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, said Monday it had submitted early data to the Food and Drug Administration in support of a booster shot. The third shot produced a significantly higher antibody response against both the Delta variant and the original COVID-19 strains, the companies said.
The FDA is expected to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech booster in the coming weeks. Because the vaccines are issued under an Emergency Use Authorization, only the FDA can make such recommendations. People with compromised immune systems became eligible last week for a third dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine. (Anyone who received a one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccination is not eligible.)
“We do know that giving a third shot boosts antibody levels, and we expect more protection against the Delta variant,” says Dr. Virginia Bieluch, Chief of Infectious Diseases at The Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, “but we’re waiting for a final recommendation.”
The United States could revive the rollout of the original vaccine, with healthcare workers, nursing home residents and older Americans receiving the booster first starting as soon as mid-September.
Israel has been providing booster shots to anyone over 60 years old vaccinated more than five months ago. Protection from the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, the only one used in Israel, dropped to 40 percent to 50 percent effectiveness against infection after six months, according to data published by the Ministry of Health. It retained high protection against serious illness and death, but not against milder illness.