As early as this fall, U.S. regulators could decide whether some people should get booster shots.
The U.S. hasn’t yet managed to get 70% of Americans vaccinated with at least one shot against COVID-19 — a Biden administration goal — but the federal government and drug makers are already planning ahead for a possible booster shot later this year. Other countries, like Israel, started this week to administer a third vaccine dose to bolster the immunity of those vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Pfizer and Moderna are looking at new potential vaccine formulas tweaked to target mutations first spotted in India. However, so far, the data show that full vaccination is sufficient to protect against Delta and other variants. Early results also suggest a third shot of the vaccine, virtually identical to the first two doses, might provide a boost in protection. Some other countries are mulling boosters by proven drugmakers, over concerns that people who were vaccinated early on with less effective doses — like Thai medical workers who were given Chinese-made Sinovac-CoronaVac shots — may need extra protection. Here’s what to know about COVID-19 booster shots: No. But Biden administration officials and vaccine makers say booster shots will “probably” be needed eventually for Americans with declining immunity. For now, researchers have detected only modest reductions in antibodies in people’s blood months after they were first vaccinated. And health officials have noted that in the United Kingdom and Israel, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remain highly effective at preventing severe illness and death, even amid surging Delta variant cases there, though a greater share of vaccinated people are contracting the disease and have shown mild symptoms.
