US health officials recommend booster vaccines for COVID-19

US health officials recommend booster vaccines for COVID-19

Federal health officials said Wednesday that vaccinated Americans would need to receive booster doses eight months after getting the second dose of coronavirus vaccine to increase protection against the virus and expand its tolerance.

The nation's leading public health and medical experts from the Department of Health and Human Services announced in a joint statement that the Biden administration is ready to begin providing the boosters the week of September 20 and beginning eight months after Americans receive their second dose of Pfizer. And two Moderna vaccines.

Public health officials said Americans who were the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19 -- health care providers, nursing home residents, and seniors -- would likely be eligible for a booster dose late next month. The Biden administration will also launch efforts to provide direct reinforcements to residents of long-term care facilities.

The White House COVID-19 response team planned to discuss the reinforcement plan at a press conference Wednesday morning.

"In combination with the dominance of the delta variant, we are beginning to see evidence of decreased protection against mild and moderate disease," health officials said in their statement. "Based on our most recent assessment, current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could wane in the coming months, especially among those at higher risk or who were vaccinated during the early stages of the vaccination launch. For this reason, we conclude that a booster dose is needed. .to maximize the protection induced by the vaccine and prolong its tolerability."

The available data are "highly indicative" that protection against COVID-19 infection begins to decline over time after initial doses of vaccines, they said.

Federal health officials expect a booster dose of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose vaccine, which was rolled out to Americans in March, is also needed. However, more data on that shot is expected in the coming weeks.

"Our top priority remains to stay ahead of the virus and protect the American people from COVID-19 with safe, effective, and long-lasting vaccines, especially in the context of the virus' spread and an ever-changing pandemic," health officials said. "We will continue to follow the science daily and are ready to adjust this plan should new data emerge that requires it."

President Biden is expected to discuss the enhanced footage in his remarks at the White House later Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. She told Mr. Biden, and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden would get boosters if recommended by federal health agencies. The two received their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer in January.

The decision by the country's top health experts to increase the number of residents that should receive booster doses comes after they recommended them last week for some Americans with weakened immune systems, such as transplant recipients or some cancer patients.

The United States was planning for the possibility that booster doses would be needed and secure an adequate supply of the vaccine to ensure Americans would get another dose of the vaccine. Psaki said the Biden administration "planned for this emergency," even as federal health agencies consider whether reinforcements are needed.

US drug companies and federal health agencies are studying the effectiveness of vaccines against infections over time and how effective they might be in protecting against the highly contagious delta variant, which now accounts for 98.8% of all conditions in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Warnings about the dangers of a shifting delta, which has led to a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, have increased new vaccinations. As of Monday, 70% of all eligible Americans, ages 12 or older, had received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to Cyrus Shahbar, the White House's director of COVID-19 data.

Nearly all hospitals have not been immunized with the COVID-19 virus, and public health officials have stressed that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in reducing the risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death, including against the delta variant.