Fauci: booster injections for immunocompromised “very high priority” in the fight against COVID-19

The Biden administration is working to get booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine for immunocompromised people “as quickly as possible,” Antoine FauciAnthony FauciOvernight Health Care: WHO calls for pause on COVID-19 booster injections in wealthier countries | Delta peak is hard to predict, but could happen this month Surgeon General: ‘Chances are high’ vaccine for children under 12 to be approved in next school year Fauci: US could see 200,000 daily cases of COVID-19 in fall MORE said Thursday, calling the group “vulnerable”.

Administration health officials said booster shots overall are not needed at this time, but Thursday’s comments from President BidenJoe BidenBiden appoints Mark Brzezinski US Ambassador to Poland 10 dead after overloaded van crash in South Texas New York State Assembly majority backs start of Cuomo impeachment process : AP PLUSThe chief medical adviser is signaling a new emergency for additional injections for people with weakened immune systems.

This group includes people who have had organ transplants, are undergoing chemotherapy, or are taking drugs that weaken their immune system. Slides introduced to a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee last month estimated the group made up 2.7 percent of all American adults.

“People who are immunocompromised are vulnerable,” Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said at a White House press briefing on Thursday.

With a few exceptions, he said, they “don’t give an adequate response. [to the COVID-19 vaccine] that we think we are protective enough. “

“It is extremely important for us to act to ensure that these people receive their boosters, and we are currently working on it and we will make sure that this is implemented as quickly as possible, because for us and for the people involved it is is a very high priority, ”says Fauci.

It’s unclear when the Food and Drug Administration and CDC would officially recommend that people with compromised immune system receive a third dose.

Fauci said earlier this week at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event that a “regulatory mechanism” should first be put in place.

The debate over booster shots has intensified, with countries like France and Germany offering them to certain groups like the immunocompromised and the elderly.

The World Health Organization is warning rich countries against third injections as many people are still waiting for their first injection.

Moderna, which produces one of the vaccines used in the United States, said earlier Thursday that he believes booster shots will likely be needed before winter, as immunity wanes and the delta variant rages on. .