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An advisory group from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met on Monday to discuss whether or not eligible Americans should receive a COVID-19 booster.
The meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices came as an independent panel of experts advising the CDC recommended the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people 16 years of age and older under full approval from the FDA.
A pharmacy technician loads a syringe with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination site at the Portland Expo in Portland, Maine.
(PA)
Monday’s panel set out to discuss a framework for a possible third vaccine against the vaccine. Its use, they said, would be necessary in one of two scenarios: when the initial immune response from the first of two doses of vaccine is insufficient or when the initial immune response wanes over time.
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The panel noted that it is not uncommon for certain diseases to require more than two doses of the vaccine – as has been the case with COVID. Hepatitis B and HPV, for example, require a third vaccine at least six months after the second dose.
However, ACIP has not reached a definitive conclusion and will meet again in mid-September.
The debate among health officials over a third dose of the vaccine continues. U.S. health officials announced earlier this month plans to distribute COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to boost their protection amid the burgeoning delta variant and signs that the effectiveness of the vaccines decreases.
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Laboratory blood tests have suggested that antibodies, one of the protective layers of the immune system, can weaken over time. This does not necessarily mean that the protection wears off completely, but that it is not as strong or that the body might take longer to fight off a disease.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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