- Most people in the US will be offered a COVID-19 booster shot about eight months after vaccination.
- The plan aims to better protect Americans from the
coronavirus amid a surge driven by the Delta variant. - Some experts have said there isn't yet data showing that we need booster shots.
The
The decision comes as the Delta variant fuels a coronavirus surge in the US, with $4 - the highest levels since February. Hospitalizations and deaths have also increased, especially in the South, though the vast majority are occurring among $4.
The booster-shot campaign will begin September 20 for people who received
The US Food and Drug Administration needs to authorize booster shots from each vaccine-maker before they can be rolled out. People will likely be eligible for boosters eight months after they received their second dose of the two-dose immunizations.
Booster shots will be free to individuals, and available at about 80,000 locations including pharmacies, Jeff Zients, the White House's COVID-19 response coordinator, said during a press conference. He said the US has enough vaccines to give everyone an extra dose.
US
"Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout," the public-health leaders said in the statement. "For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.
Health officials said Wednesday the latest study results $4. One new CDC study, for instance, found the
While Moderna and Pfizer are both working on newer versions of their vaccines tailored to protect against Delta and other variant, these booster shots are expected to be similar to the shots that people are already receiving.
Both drugmakers have recently presented data showing that booster shots can increase the immune system's ability to fend off the Delta variant.
The decision comes amid an ongoing $4. Some vaccine experts have said there isn't enough data to justify giving boosters now, and the vaccines are still highly effective at preventing hospitalizations and deaths. They also contend that the goal should be to get initial vaccine doses to more people, both in the US and $4.
On the other side, executives at vaccine-makers $4 and $4 have argued it's best to be proactive. As Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel $4, he'd rather have the US offer boosters two months too early than two months too late.
Health workers and vulnerable people to get boosters first
By tethering booster shots to the time of initial vaccination, the booster campaign will follow a similar sequence to the initial rollout of shots:
It's unclear how many vaccinated people will decide to get a booster; Michael Yee, a
The US has $4. Those shots are only available to people who were initially vaccinated with shots from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.
About nine in 10 fully vaccinated Americans received two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, which both use a similar technology.
Nearly 14 million people in the US received the single-dose J&J vaccine. The health officials said they expect data that will help them decide on a booster-shot plan for people who received that vaccine in the next few weeks.
To date, $4. About 169 million people in the US are fully vaccinated, or just over half of the nation's population. Children younger than 12 still aren't eligible to get coronavirus vaccines.