WASHINGTON – The US recommended vaccine boosters on Wednesday for individuals eight months after completing the two-round Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA regiments.
The booster distribution plan anticipates distribution beginning Sept. 20 following independent evaluation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuing dose recommendations.
Boosters will remain free of charge, and Jeff Zients, US President Joe Biden's Covid-19 response coordinator, said they will be as accessible as the initial shots that continue to be doled out in the US.
Current data indicates vaccine protection against infection wanes over time, as does protection against mild and moderate health complications from the virus, according to a joint statement from US health officials who made special note of the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
"Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout," said top officials from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The announcement is a rebuke to the World Health Organization who just two weeks ago called for a global booster moratorium to achieve greater international vaccine equity.
The US has brushed aside the call, saying it can supply its citizens with booster shots while continuing to distribute vaccines worldwide and maintaining its spot as the global leader in international deliveries.
Surgeon General Vivek Murphy said the choice between supplying the US and other nations is a false dichotomy that the Biden administration does not accept.
"We believe we have to work on both fronts, as we have been. But when we see data that is giving us essentially indications that protection is starting to diminish in terms of mild and moderate disease, when we recognize that if this trajectory continues, that people who are well-protected today may see more vulnerability in the future, we have to act," he told reporters.
The recommendation only applies to those who completed the two-round series of shots for Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccines even though the US is also administering another jab from Johnson & Johnson. Health authorities are still evaluating data on when people who received that vaccine will need a booster, but said it is likely they will need one over time.
Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna shots, which began distribution in December, Johnson & Johnson jabs did not begin going into arms until March.
Call for temporary moratorium renewed
In Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus on Wednesday renewed his call for a moratorium on booster vaccines to shift supply to countries which do not have access to jabs.
Speaking at a press webinar in Geneva, Tedros said currently, only 10 countries had administered 75 percent of all vaccine supply, and low-income countries have vaccinated barely 2 percent of their people.
"I called for a temporary moratorium on boosters to help shift supply to those countries that have not even been able to vaccinate their health workers and at-risk communities and are now experiencing major spikes," Tedros said.
He said it is critical to get first shots and protect the most vulnerable before boosters are rolled out.
"The divide between the haves and have nots will only grow larger if manufacturers and leaders prioritize booster shots oversupply to low- and middle-income countries," said the world health chief.
He said the coronavirus is evolving, and it is not in leaders' interests to focus "on narrow nationalistic goals" in an interconnected world when the virus is rapidly mutating.
Stunned by South Africa news
"In this context, I was stunned by the news that J&J (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines fill and finished in South Africa are leaving the continent and going to Europe, where virtually all adults have been offered vaccines at this point," said the WHO chief.
Tedros urged Johnson & Johnson to urgently prioritize vaccine distribution before considering supplies to rich countries that already have sufficient access.
On Aug. 4, the WHO chief called for a freeze on booster jabs against COVID-19 until the end of September to enable at least 10 percent of the global population to get vaccinated.
He said strong leadership should commit to vaccine equity, saving lives and slowing variants down.
The world must do better at sharing resources and health tools, he said. (Anadolu)
