As early as this fall, U.S. regulators could decide whether some people should get booster shots.<\/b>
\nThe U.S. hasn’t yet managed to get 70% of Americans vaccinated with at least one shot against COVID-19 \u2014 a Biden administration goal \u2014 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 \u2014 like Thai medical workers who were given Chinese-made Sinovac-CoronaVac shots \u2014 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 \u00ab\u00a0probably\u00a0\u00bb 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. Johnson & Johnson has also released data from a small study suggesting its vaccine also had \u00ab\u00a0strong, persistent activity\u00a0\u00bb in laboratory tests against the Delta variant. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates vaccines, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which decides on how authorized shots will be deployed in the U.S., are still gathering data on boosters. \u00ab\u00a0We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed,\u00a0\u00bb the CDC and FDA said in a statement. As early as this fall, U.S. regulators could decide whether some people should get booster shots. Vaccine manufacturers and the federal government have launched trials examining the value of an additional vaccine dose. Pfizer representatives met this week with Biden administration officials to discuss their most recent data. Pfizer announced it saw \u00ab\u00a0encouraging data\u00a0\u00bb in its booster shot trial, suggesting the extra shot was effective at raising immunity without serious side effects. A spokesperson for the company told CBS News the company plans to publish more detailed results from its trial by August and then seek emergency use authorization from the FDA for a third dose. \u00ab\u00a0You’re talking about a process that’s probably at least a couple of months long,\u00a0\u00bb Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a Pfizer board member and former FDA commissioner, told \u00ab\u00a0Face the Nation\u00a0\u00bb. Early results from Moderna’s booster shot trials are expected by September, along with research into \u00ab\u00a0breakthrough\u00a0\u00bb infections among fully vaccinated people. By then, FDA officials say they also hope to have more real-world data on the people who received the vaccine in the earliest phase of the rollout \u2014 health care workers and older Americans in long-term care facilities. \u00ab\u00a0We need to look at how their immunity is waning and are they starting to get infected at some point, or is their immunity dropping down to a level where they might not be able to fight against the virus,\u00a0\u00bb acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in May. A small share of fully vaccinated people, ranging from those vaccinated earliest to older Americans and the immunocompromised, could be among those who need boosters first. Moderna has announced plans to make booster doses for the U.S. The company said last month that the Biden administration had purchased 200 million more doses through early 2022, which could serve either to vaccinate children or as a booster shot \u00ab\u00a0if that becomes necessary.\u00a0\u00bb Pfizer has not announced specific plans to manufacture booster shots, but the U.S. has millions of doses available for future needs. Scientists are researching whether it would be safe and effective to \u00ab\u00a0mix and match\u00a0\u00bb booster shots from one manufacturer with earlier doses from another. The NIH expects the initial results of a study mixing Moderna with Pfizer and with Johnson & Johnson as a booster by later this summer. Early research by countries using AstraZeneca’s vaccine suggests mixing its first doses with second doses of Pfizer’s shots may have boosted immunity, though health officials warn mixing booster shots could risk worse side effects. \u00ab\u00a0It’s a little bit of a dangerous trend here where people are in a data-free, evidence-free zone as far as mix-and-match. There’s limited data on mix-and-match,\u00a0\u00bb Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, told reporters on Monday. No. The Biden administration says the next round of booster shots will be free for Americans, same as the current batch of doses.<\/p>\n