US works with vaccine makers on booster dose for some CDC directors

[ad_1]

Person receives COVID-19 vaccine at Floyd’s Family Pharmacy as cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) increase in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, United States, August 5, 2021.REUTERS / Callaghan O’Hare / File Photo

Aug.12 (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with vaccine makers Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) to allow certain vulnerable people to receive a third booster of their vaccines COVID-19 to improve their immune response, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Speaking at a COVID-19 press briefing at the White House, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the injections would be available for some people with moderate and severe immunosuppression, such as people who have had transplants. ‘organs and some cancer patients. She estimated the vulnerable group to be less than 3% of adults.

“This action aims to ensure that our most vulnerable, who may need an extra dose to improve their biological responses to vaccines, are better protected against COVID-19,” Walensky said.

The CDC’s advisory committee on immunization practices will meet on Friday to discuss this issue and offer recommendations.

Dr Anthony Fauci, a senior US infectious disease official, said US officials do not believe the elderly or other non-immunocompromised people need another dose of the vaccine just yet.

Still, he said the government is assessing the need for the day-to-day booster injections.

“This is a true statement that we believe that sooner or later you will need a booster for the durability of protection,” said Fauci.

Cases and hospitalizations have increased across the country in the past month. Some hospitals in Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi are out of beds and the epidemic is spreading beyond the epicenter of the southern United States to Oregon and the Washington State. Read more

Some other countries, such as Israel and Germany, are planning or have already given third injections to the elderly or vulnerable in an attempt to slow the spread of the contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[ad_2]