“We’re going to see a surge no matter what,” Dennis Wykoff, a professor of molecular genetics at Villanova University, said.
All American adults will soon be eligible for a COVID-19 booster shot, but increasing protection among the vaccinated won’t be enough to curb the surge in cases likely coming as the country moves into the winter months. The Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) approved booster doses for all adults on Friday and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) is likely to follow suit. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that the U.S. sees an increase in young adults getting their booster shot before gathering for Thanksgiving, and experts worry boosters won’t be enough to change the pandemic’s trajectory if large portions of the population remain unvaccinated. “We’re going to see a surge no matter what and I think that surge is going to be more in the unvaccinated population,” Dennis Wykoff, a professor of molecular genetics at Villanova University, said. “Hopefully, it will slowly decline but I think, sadly, what we have right now could be for the foreseeable future until we reach herd immunity plus vaccination.” If authorized by the CDC, all adults who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine will be eligible for a booster dose six months after receiving their second dose. It comes months after the CDC and FDA authorized booster doses for people at a high risk of developing serious illness and all adult recipients of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. However, many people aren’t running out to get booster doses. Only about 38 percent of fully vaccinated people over the age of 65, who have been eligible since September, have received a booster.
