U.S. health official says COVID-19 boosters could risk more serious side effects

July 13 (Reuters) – The United States is examining the need for a third COVID-19 booster injection in residents who have already been vaccinated, but needs more data on whether additional injections could increase the risk of ‘serious side effects, according to the United States a health official said on Tuesday.

The official said the second dose for two-shot COVID-19 vaccine regimens was associated with higher rates of side effects, suggesting that a third dose could potentially carry even greater risks.

“We are very keen to know whether or not a third dose may or may not be associated with a higher risk of side effects, especially some of these more serious – albeit very rare – side effects,” said Jay Butler, deputy director American centers. for disease control and prevention, during a press briefing.

The U.S. government has not made a decision on whether to give booster shots, but sees a greater potential need among the elderly and other groups at high risk for serious infection, Butler said.

Pfizer (PFE.N) and partner BioNTech (22UAy.DE) plan to ask US regulators within weeks to authorize a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, based on evidence of increased risk infection six months after inoculation and spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus. Read more

Butler said he had seen no evidence of a decrease in immunity to COVID-19 among U.S. residents who were shot in December or January.

He added that existing injections offer significant protection against the Delta variant of COVID-19, which was first found in India and has become the dominant strain in the United States.

Reporting by Carl O’Donnell in New York and Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru

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