The Administration of President Joe Biden plans to announce that the majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will need a booster dose to maintain antibody levels at 8 months and combat the highly communicable delta variant, which is causing an increase in cases, according to four people familiar with the decision.
The Administration's health and science experts agree that people will need a vaccine reminder eight months after achieving full immunization, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Washington Post.
A vaccination card against COVID-19 Wilfredo Lee / AP
It is not ruled out that the measure will be announced this week.
The administration of the booster vaccines would not occur until mid to late September, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes the request of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer-BioNTech for additional doses, they specified. sources.
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The conclusion that vaccine boosters will be necessary was reached after intense discussions last weekend, involving high-level officials who reviewed the latest data on the efficacy of vaccines from the United States and other countries.
This is a sea change from public statements made by senior officials in recent months, who had said it was too early to conclude that Americans would need booster doses.
In July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA issued an unusual statement reiterating that fully vaccinated citizens did not need a third dose.
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The message, however, has been changing in recent days.
As data from the United States and other countries showed that immunity declines over time, Health officials modulated their thoughts and hinted that perhaps a reminder would be necessary.
Last week, the White House's top medical adviser, Anthony S. Fauci, noted that it was "likely" that everyone will need a booster dose against the coronavirus at some point.
On Monday night, the White House declined to comment, according to The Washington Post.
The debate on the doses of boosters has intensified as the pandemic has developed, mainly due to the transmissibility capacity of the delta variant.
The data suggest that vaccines lose some antiviral potency over time, but authorities have been reluctant to highlight this fact because they are still trying to persuade broad swaths of citizens to get vaccinated, the main strategy to overcome the pandemic.
Pharmaceutical Pfizer, for its part, said on Monday its studies support a booster dose nine months after being fully vaccinated to regenerate the creation of antibodies.
At the same time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized the most prosperous countries for promoting their plans to administer a third dose to their population, claiming that it is more ethical and more effective to provide these vaccines to immunize citizens of more disadvantaged states .
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But the US authorities are increasingly concerned about the emergence of data, some of which have not yet been reviewed, that show a decrease in efficacy over the months due to the increase in cases caused by the delta variant.
At least a million Americans have gone ahead and received additional vaccinations on their own, bypassing health laws.
"I think [the variant] delta changed everything," said one of the people familiar with the government's decision.
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Israel just released data proving that, for people vaccinated in January who are 65 years of age or older, Pfizer's vaccine was less than 55% effective against severe illness and hospitalization.
The decline in efficacy, which has appeared in Israeli data for several weeks, has prompted that country to begin administering a booster vaccine to citizens aged 50 and over.
One official said that the information gathered by Israel is "very relevant and potentially important."
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Some members of the government are also examining data released last week by the Mayo Clinic, which found that the effectiveness of Pfizer's vaccine had dropped to 42% in July.
The vaccine was still very effective against severe forms of COVID-19 that could lead to hospitalization.
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Only 50% of Americans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, although the rate of vaccination has accelerated in recent weeks.
Still, millions of people remain staunchly opposed to immunization.
Former President Donald Trump's vaccine-reluctant constituencies confirmed the officials' fears, but officials decided to go ahead with the booster doses due to the impact of the delta variant and the decreased effectiveness of the vaccines reflected in the studies.
With information from The Washington Post