US studies vaccine mix to boost COVID-19 immunity

While the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to recommend that the general population receive a COVID 19 vaccine booster, the United States government is preparing for this potential scenario by conducting the relevant studies.

According to the doctor Antoine Fauci, the chief government epidemiologist, it may be safe and even beneficial to get a booster with a vaccine that was developed by a different lab than the person originally had. That is, if a person has two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, they could be boosted with the Moderna vaccine or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the other two formulations permitted in the United States.

“We are currently in the middle of studies. Corn Initial data indicates that Moderna’s vaccine used as a booster for one of three vaccines – Modern with Moderna, Moderna with Pfizer, or Moderna with Johnson & Johnson – may be very effectiveSaid Fauci, who also explained that they are now analyzing cases where Pfizer or Johnson & Johnson are used as backup.

For the time being, CDC (Centers for Disease Control) recommend that those eligible for a booster vaccine receive the same vaccine they originally received. “People who have received the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna vaccine against COVID 19 should receive a booster of the same mRNA-type vaccine. No one should receive more than three doses of mRNA vaccines, ”he said on the CDC website.

However, Fauci suggests that the recommendation may change once new data is obtained.

“We have not given up on this concept because we understand that there will be situations, for one reason or another, in which a person may not have access to the same vaccine that was originally administered,” said explained Fauci. However, he clarified that In the event that one of the three vaccines on the market proves to be much more effective than the others as a booster, the country has sufficient reserves to inoculate the entire population with a new dose of one of the vaccines.

For the time being, the FDA has limited the recommendation of a booster dose for people over 65 or those with a pre-existing condition that puts them at higher risk. But Fauci believes the concept of eligibility will expand.

Fall begins today in the northern hemisphere and this adds an additional level of concern about the pandemic. Colder temperatures mean that meetings are held in closed spaces where the virus spreads more easily.

And the problem facing the United States remains the same: there are still 70 million people who could be vaccinated and who have chosen not to be vaccinated.

“As long as these people decide not to get vaccinated, the Delta variant will continue to be a problem for all of these vulnerable people. 70 million vulnerable people, ”added Fauci.

The next step in the in-country vaccination campaign is to extend the concept of eligibility to children between 5 and 11 years old. Fauci thinks that if minors get vaccinated and many of those 70 million people change their minds and get vaccinated as well, then “America is potentially in a very good place to face the coming winter. “.

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