Coronavirus in the US: More Covid-19 boosters are coming. But not everyone needs one, experts say

Offit said that while he voted to recommend half-dose booster shots for some people six months after their first two doses of Moderna’s vaccine, he doesn’t think everyone needs one.

“I do worry about the kind of 18- to 29-year-olds because that’s the group at higher risk for myocarditis — that’s inflammation of the heart muscle,” he said. “So, with no apparent benefit of needing that third dose, I think we’ve created this kind of ‘third dose fever’ in this country because of the way this has played out.”

dr. Michael Kurilla, director of the division of clinical innovation at the National Center for Advancing Translation Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, agreed.

“I don’t see the need for a booster let-it-rip campaign,” Kurilla said.

According to CDC data, the number of people receiving booster doses currently exceeds the number of people receiving their first dose of vaccine. More than a million doses were reported on Wednesday, but only about 230,000 people on average start the vaccination process every day.

“We are at 66 million, still an unacceptably high number of unvaccinated people,” he said on Thursday. “This is not the time to give up.”

The FDA will consider the committee’s recommendations, and if an EUA is approved, the CDC will discuss eligibility groups.

Vaccine mandates are moving forward

As the debate over boosters continues, experts consistently point to the greater need to vaccinate unvaccinated individuals to stay ahead of the pandemic. And while many campaigns to mandate Covid-19 vaccines from the public and private sectors have been successfully received, some agencies are experiencing backlash from a vocal subset.

Many state employees in Washington are four days away from a deadline to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and officials will not extend that deadline any further.

“If people make the choice to leave public service, we will replace them,” Governor Jay Inslee said Thursday.

More than 90% of state employees have given proof of vaccination, Inslee said, and about two percent more have received special accommodations that allow them to remain unvaccinated due to medical conditions or religious beliefs.

“We know there are staff members who refuse to be vaccinated,” Joan Hall, president of Nevada Rural Hospital Partners, said in a briefing Thursday. Vaccination rates for employees in their hospitals range from 60% to 90%, Hall said.

But experts have consistently pointed out that areas with higher vaccination rates do better with Covid-19 hospitalizations.

According to Dr. NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Mitchell Katz, the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the city’s public health system has reached its lowest point since the start of the pandemic.

Application of antiviral pills will be reviewed

Vaccines have been proven to be the most effective means of Covid-19 protection, but the measure is preventive. An antiviral pill that can help newly infected people is now scheduled for review next month.

If finally approved, the drug – which comes in capsule form – would be the first oral antiviral treatment to fight Covid-19.

“Up to Day 29, no deaths were reported in patients receiving molnupiravir, compared with 8 deaths in patients receiving placebo,” the statement said.

The FDA noted that it doesn’t always call an advisory committee meeting to discuss a potential EUA, but it can when the committee discussion would help inform the agency’s decision-making.

“We believe that in this case, a public discussion of this data with the agency’s advisory committee will help to gain a clear understanding of the scientific data and information that the FDA is evaluating to make a decision about the whether or not to authorize this treatment for emergency use,” Dr. Patrizia Cavazzoni, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.