Joe Biden, 78, received the third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine at the White House on Monday. The US president is one of the eligible profiles in the new round of injections approved last week by the United States health authorities, including those over 65, patients with underlying diseases over 18 and workers highly exposed to the virus at least. The drug regulatory agency (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have stated that the booster dose must be received six months after the completion of the original guideline.
“The reinforcements are important.
But the most important thing we must do is vaccinate more people, "said the president.
"Please do the right thing.
Please receive these vaccinations.
It can save your life and it can save the lives of those around you, ”Biden said, pointing to the more than 70 million Americans who have not been inoculated.
Despite the rejection of international organizations that rich countries administer a third dose, the president has defended it to stop the rise in infections due to the delta variant, whose viral load is up to 1,200 times higher than previous mutations.
The president even wanted healthy adults to be eligible as well, but health agencies rejected that proposal.
Biden received his first injection on December 21 and his second dose three weeks later, on January 11, at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. Last week, the president announced that 60 million Americans qualify to receive a booster vaccine, according to criteria established by the CDC. Approximately 22 million Americans received the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine more than six months ago, and about half of them are 65 years or older.
Vice President Kamala Harris, 56, received the Moderna vaccine. Regulatory agencies have not yet authorized the booster doses from the drugmaker or Johnson & Johnson, pending data on the safety and efficacy of a booster. Biden asked those who did not get vaccinated with Pfizer to "wait their turn in line." Regulatory agencies do not recommend that people vaccinated with a different brand receive the third puncture from Pfizer.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly opposed a third round of injections when the poorest countries still do not have enough vaccines to administer the first to their populations.
Asked about these criticisms, Biden defended this Monday that they are the country that has distributed the most doses to low-income nations, "more than all countries combined."
Washington announced last week that it will donate another 500 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, raising the donation commitment to more than 1.1 billion doses in total by 2022.
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