US CDC Reviews Necessity of Vaccine Booster Shots

Preparing for Worst: Vaccine Immunity, Variant Viruses
Washington University Predicts Early Achievement of President Biden's Vaccine Goal by Late May

[Asia Economy International Desk Reporter] The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reviewing whether a vaccine booster shot is necessary, according to American media outlets including CNN on the 8th (local time). A booster shot refers to an additional vaccine injection given to enhance or extend the immune effect of the vaccine.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky stated this during an interview with Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner on Instagram, saying, "We want to hope for the best while preparing for the worst."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

She said that CDC researchers are examining whether the vaccine's immune effect weakens over time and whether a booster shot targeting specific variant coronaviruses already present in the U.S. is needed.

Director Walensky added, "We are conducting research on booster shots to determine if they are necessary, and if so, whether that would be at 6 months, 1 year, or 2 years. We don't know yet, but if it is needed, we want to be prepared." She also stated that if deemed necessary, procedures to release the booster shots are already being implemented by the authorities.

Walensky said, "The scenario we envision is that booster shots will be administered in the same way as flu vaccines," adding, "We hope it won't be necessary every season, but we are preparing in case it is."

In this regard, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine released a predictive model on the 6th, forecasting that the U.S. will achieve President Joe Biden's new vaccination goal ahead of schedule, but warned that vaccine refusal and variant viruses could cause a major outbreak in winter.

According to this predictive model, President Biden's goal of vaccinating at least 70% of U.S. adults with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be achieved by the end of May. Although President Biden set the target date as July 4th, Independence Day, it is expected to be reached more than a month earlier. The model also estimates that by September, about 88% of the adult population, or 185 million people, will be vaccinated. However, the model predicts that vaccine demand will decline afterward due to resistance from those refusing vaccination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.