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People fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States are highly protected against the highly transmissible virus delta variant of the coronavirus, and do not yet need boosters, experts say.
“Americans who have been fully immunized do not need a booster at this time,” according to a joint declaration from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “We are continuing to review all new data as it becomes available and will keep the public informed.”
The statement came after Pfizer-BioNTech announced its intention to seek authorization of a recall for its COVID-19 vaccine. While all vaccine makers have looked into booster shots just in case they’re needed, Pfizer’s decision to seek clearance so quickly took experts by surprise, and many of them criticized the announcement, The New York Times reported.
Related: Quick guide: COVID-19 vaccines used and how they work
Current evidence suggests that Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s Vaccines against covid-19 – the three that are administered in the United States – are all highly protective against the delta variant, according to the Times. The European Medicines Agency (the European counterpart to the FDA) has said it is too early to say whether more than two injections of COVID-19 vaccine will be needed, according to Reuters.
The delta variant, or B.1.617.2, was first identified in India in October 2020 and designated the World Health Organization as a ‘variant of concern’ in May 2021, Previously reported live science. The delta variant is said to be 60% more transmissible than the alpha variant, the previous dominant variant in the United States, according to the report.
The delta variant currently accounts for nearly 58% of new cases in the United States, According to the CDC.
A study by Public Health England found that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic illnesses caused by the delta variant, Live Science reported. Other studies in Scotland and Canada also found that the vaccine was 79% and 87% effective, respectively, in preventing symptomatic disease of this variant, according to the Times.
But a preliminary study conducted in Israel, which has not yet been peer reviewed, found that the vaccine was only about 64% effective in preventing symptomatic illnesses but 93% in preventing serious illness in the body. delta, according to a statement. Pfizer said Israel’s own findings were similar to these findings, according to the Times.
Related: Coronavirus Variants: Here’s How SARS-CoV-2 Mutants Stack Up
Johnson & Johnson recently said their single-injection COVID-19 vaccine also protects against the delta variant, Previously reported live science. Moderna also said that tests of blood samples from vaccinated people have shown that the delta variant is very effective in making antibodies against the delta variant, according to the Times.
Experts say the vast majority of people who develop severe COVID-19 disease are not vaccinated.
“Preliminary data from several states in recent months suggests that 99.5% of COVID-19 deaths in the United States were in unvaccinated people,” CDC director Rochelle Walensky said on July 8 during ‘a press conference. press conference. “These deaths were preventable with simple and safe shooting.”
Because the vaccines appear to protect people from catching the delta variant, and particularly against the development of serious illness and death, boosters are not needed at this time, experts told Buzzfeed News. “The dam is still holding, even though there has been some splash,” immunologist E. John Wherry, director of the Penn Institute of Immunology, told Buzzfeed News.
“We are ready to receive booster doses if and when science shows they are needed,” the CDC and FDA statement said.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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