COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be made widely available to Americans starting on September 20, US health officials said on Wednesday, citing data showing diminishing protection from the initial vaccinations as infections rise from the Delta variant.
US officials will offer a third shot to Americans who received their initial inoculation of two-dose COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna Inc and by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech AG at least eight months earlier, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
The US government expects to give out 100 million booster shots for free at around 80 000 locations nationwide, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said.
Initial booster doses will be given to Americans who received two-dose vaccines, but officials said they anticipate that people given Johnson & Johnson’s shot, authorized in the United States in February, will also need boosters.
“You want to get out ahead of the virus,” Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, told reporters.
“If you wait for something bad to happen before you respond to it, you find you’re considerably behind your real full capability of being responsive.”
The booster shots, officials said, initially will focus on healthcare workers, nursing home residents and older people -among the first groups to be vaccinated in late 2020 and early 2021.
The news drew support from both US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who said he “absolutely” planned to get a third shot.
Shares of Pfizer rose around 1.65% in midday trading. Moderna shares dropped around 2.8% and J&J fell 0.5%.
There is mounting evidence that protection from COVID-19 vaccines wanes after six or more months, especially in older people with underlying health conditions. The officials cited this in their decision on boosters but stressed that the US-authorized shots have proven “remarkably effective” in reducing the risk of severe disease, hospitalisations and deaths.
More than a million Americans sought an extra vaccine dose before the official decision on boosters was announced, according to federal data. US officials previously authorized a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for people with weak immune systems.
The US announcement defies guidance from the World Health Organisation, whose chief scientist said current data does not indicate the need for booster shots.
In recent weeks, several other countries have decided to offer booster shots to older adults and people with weak immune systems, including Israel, Germany and France. European Union officials said on Wednesday they do not yet see a need to give booster shots to the general population.
