The US government said on Wednesday that, with the increase in infections of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, it plans to widely provide booster injections of the COVID19 vaccine beginning September 20, citing data to show that the protective effect of the vaccine has gradually weakened. weather. The US Department of Health and Human Services stated in a statement that at least 8 months ago, 4,444 US officials were preparing to provide a third injection to Americans who had completed the initial vaccination with the vaccine. Double dose COVID 19 is produced by Moderna Inc, Pfizer Inc, and BioNTech AG.: //www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/08/18/jointstatementthhspublichealthandmedicalexpertscovid19boostershots.html.
US health officials said they expect people who receive a single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine (another COVID 19 vaccine approved in the United States) also need a booster dose. The United States didn’t start using Johnson & Johnson injections until March. Senior US health officials said in a joint statement that the
The booster vaccine will initially be targeted at medical workers, nursing home residents, and the elderly, who will be the first people to be vaccinated at the end of 2020 and early 2021.
There is increasing evidence that vaccine protection will decline after six months or more, especially in elderly people with underlying health problems. Officials cited this in their decision on boosters but emphasized that vaccines approved in the United States have proven to be “very effective” in reducing the risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death. The
These officials include President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, as well as the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health.
“The available data shows very clearly that the protective effect against SARSCoV2 infection has begun to decline over time…and in relation to the advantages of the Delta variant, we are beginning to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease,”,” said the official.
“We conclude that the injections should be strengthened to maximize the protection induced by the vaccine and extend its durability,” they added.
US officials previously authorized Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna to vaccinate the third dose of vaccine for people with weakened immune systems.
In recent weeks, several other countries have also decided to give people with weak immune systems, including Israel, France,e and Germany.
DELTA variant problem
Vaccination has been used extensively in the United States, unlike in many other countries, but the highly infectious Delta variant has led to experts The unvaccinated pandemic is described because many people choose not to get vaccinated. 4,444 The United States leads the world in the number of reported COVID19 cases and deaths. With the prevalence of the Delta variant, the number of daily cases in the United States has soared from less than 10,000 in early July to more than 150,000 in August. The new cases include some people who have been vaccinated, although they are much less likely to develop a serious illness or die than people who have not been vaccinated.
According to CDC data, more than 72% of Americans age 18 and older have at least one dose of the vaccine and nearly 62% have received the vaccine. According to the CDC, 59.9% of the total population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 50.9% have been fully vaccinated.
According to federal data, more than one million Americans independently sought additional vaccine doses before announcing a formal decision to boost the vaccine.
Israeli healthcare provider https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcarepharmaceuticals/thirdpfizerdose86effectiveover60sisraelihmosays20210818 A study published on Wednesday found that the third dose of Pfizer/BioNTech injections is 86% effective for people over 60. Another Israeli study published this week showed that there is evidence that immunity declines within a few months after vaccination with the COVID19 vaccine, increasing the risk of serious infections in the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.
“The surprising factor is the vulnerability of the vaccine, people who get the vaccine much earlier than expected,” Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist, and director of the Scripps Institute for Translational Research in California said of the study.
“The entire driver dynamic is being rewritten,” Topol added.
The US statement violated World Health Organization guidance. The chief scientist for the World Health Organization said on Wednesday that current data does not indicate the need to step up injections. A WHO consultant stated that the vaccine dose should be given first to people in the poorest countries who have not yet received the initial vaccination. Decision
This represents the optimism of the US health authorities in containing the pandemic in May, when Biden set a goal of vaccinating 70% of American adults with at least one dose by July 4. The goal was achieved approximately one month late.
The US improvement plan is dependent on the FDA’s determination that the third dose of the double-dose vaccine is safe and effective, as well as the favorable recommendations of the CDC consultants.
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