US Plans 'Booster Shot' as Early as This Fall

Biden Administration Discusses Starting October Booster Shots... Prioritizing Elderly in Nursing Homes
US FDA and CDC Recommend Additional Vaccinations for Immunocompromised Groups

[Asia Economy International Department Reporter] The Biden administration in the United States is reportedly preparing plans to start additional COVID-19 vaccine booster shots as early as this fall, according to the New York Times (NYT) on the 14th (local time).

The NYT reported that nursing home residents and healthcare workers are likely to be the first to receive booster shots. It also predicted that the elderly will be targeted for booster shot vaccinations. Most of them were vaccinated early in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign that began in December last year.

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Pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Moderna are developing "customized" booster shot vaccines targeting the recently prevalent Delta variant, but for now, it is highly likely that the same vaccines used for the first and second doses will be administered for the third dose.

The Biden administration is reportedly discussing plans to start additional COVID-19 vaccinations in October, according to the newspaper. However, the specific schedule has not yet been finalized.

These discussions are gaining momentum as research results increasingly show that the vaccine's preventive effect diminishes over time, and breakthrough infection cases are rising due to the spread of the Delta variant.

Israel has already started administering booster shots to the elderly, and Germany and France also plan to begin booster vaccinations for the elderly and vulnerable groups next month.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, which had a faster vaccination pace than the United States, the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine dropped from 95% in early this year to 39% between late June and mid-July. However, the preventive effect against severe illness remained at 91.4%.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently recommended additional vaccinations for previously vaccinated individuals with weakened immunity.

However, there is still insufficient research on the necessity of booster shots, and criticism arises that it is premature for only some countries, including the United States, to start additional vaccinations while many countries have yet to properly administer initial vaccinations.

Luciana Borio, former acting director of the FDA, said, "Vaccinate the unvaccinated first, then after other countries have vaccinated their populations, only then should we talk about booster shots."

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also requested a postponement of booster shot vaccinations worldwide until at least the end of September for similar reasons.

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