U.S. FDA clears third dose of COVID-19 vaccine for people with vulnerable immune systems

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared third doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines for people with weakened immune systems, giving doctors more leeway to protect those who have not responded well enough to a first series of injections.

The existing emergency use authorization for the two vaccines, applies to people who have received solid organ transplants and to others whose immune systems are also weakened, says the FDA.

The agency’s decision came a day before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) independent advisory committee was formed to review and vote on whether to recommend the measure. The committee will likely give its approval and the CDC will continue to support its own approval of the additional doses.

“The FDA is particularly aware that people who are immunocompromised are at particular risk for serious disease,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in a statement. “After a careful review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group could benefit from a third dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.”, he stressed.

For the rest of people outside the immunocompromised group who are vaccinated with the full schedule, theThe FDA stressed that they remain “sufficiently protected and do not need an additional dose of the covid-19 vaccine at this time.”

This notice comes when Local media have revealed that some people in the United States are taking advantage of the lack of rigorous controls to receive a third dose without it being approved nor recommended by the authorities.

The United States thus joins other European countries and Israel which have announced that they will begin in the coming weeks to administer a third dose to the population at risk.

that despite The World Health Organization (WHO) last week called on rich countries for a global moratorium on a third dose so that there are enough vaccines to immunize at least 10% of each country’s population. thus protecting those who are most at risk of developing serious illness and dying.

According to official CDC data, 59.2% of Americans have received at least one dose of one of the vaccines, and 50.2% the full guideline.

These are low percentages for a country that has had enough vaccines for its entire population for months. but it has been met with skepticism and rejection by some sectors, especially racial minorities and conservatives.

Until the date, 619,093 people have died from covid-19 in the United States and more than 36 million have been infected, according to the independent count from Johns Hopkins University.

FAUCI: IT WILL BE “INEVITABLE”

The Chief Epidemiologist of the United States Government, Anthony Fauci, said Thursday “inevitable” that a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines be administered in the future, although he did not want to specify when.

This was stated during the press conference of the White House Response Team against COVID-19, in which he stressed that it is something that it will happen “sooner or later”. During this time, the American health authorities assess the situation on a daily basis and follow national and international studies to possibly make a decision on the matter.

“We do not believe that the elderly and non-elderly who are not immunocompromised need a (additional) vaccine at this time”, clarified Fauci.

The health officer recalled that this is a dynamic process and that all data must be examined to adopt a resolution, although he stressed that the government is preparing for the eventuality of a booster dose.

“If the data shows us that this needs to be done, we’ll be very ready to do it quickly.Fauci stressed.

(With information from EFE)

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