Scientists question evidence behind US COVID-19 booster boost

August 19 (Reuters) – Biden administration’s plan to provide COVID-19 booster is based on concern that a decrease in vaccines’ ability to protect against milder infections could also mean people have less protection against serious diseases, a premise that has Scientists said Thursday that it has not yet been proven.

U.S. officials, citing data showing declining protection against mild to moderate disease from the Pfizer-BioNTech (PFE.N) and Moderna (MRNA.O) vaccines more than six months after inoculation, said Wednesday that the reinforcements will be widely available from September 20th. Read more

The additional dose will be offered to people who received their initial inoculation at least eight months earlier.

“Recent data make it clear that protection against mild to moderate disease has diminished over time. It is probably due to both decreased immunity and the strength of the widespread Delta variant,” he told reporters. American general surgeon Vivek Murthy.

“We are concerned that this pattern of decline we are seeing will continue in the coming months, which could lead to a reduction in protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death.”

Data on so-called “advanced” infections in vaccinated people show that older Americans have so far been the most vulnerable to serious illness.

As of Aug. 9, nearly 74 percent of the 8,054 people hospitalized with COVID-19 were over 65, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost 20% of these cases ended in deaths.

Based on available data on vaccine protection, it is not clear that there are younger and healthier people at risk.

“We don’t know if that translates into a problem with the vaccine that does the most important thing, which is to protect against hospitalization, death, and serious illness. In that sense, the jury is still out,” Dr. Jesse said. Goodman, an infectious disease expert at Georgetown University in Washington and a former chief scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Several countries have decided to provide booster shots to older adults and people with weak immune systems. European Union officials said Wednesday they still do not see the need to give reinforcements to the general population.

Other experts said the U.S. plan requires a thorough review by the FDA and a group of advisors outside the CDC. A meeting of these advisers is being rescheduled to discuss the boosters scheduled for Aug. 24, CDC reported Thursday on its website.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC and the FDA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some experts questioned the focus on booster shots when about 30% of eligible Americans have not yet received a single dose of vaccine, despite new cases of COVID-19 and growing deaths across the country. .

“The most important thing, I think, right now is to make sure we get the vaccine in any arm that hasn’t had it as soon as possible,” said Dr. Dan McQuillen, an infectious disease specialist in Burlington. Massachusetts, and the new president of the Society of Infectious Diseases of America.

All the experts interviewed by Reuters also stressed the need to inoculate the large number of people around the world who have not yet accessed COVID-19 vaccines.

“You could end up in a situation where you’re chasing your tail, giving more and more impetus to the U.S. and Western Europe, while other more dangerous variants come from elsewhere,” said Dr. Isaac Weisfuse, an epidemiologist and adjunct professor at Cornell University Public Health.

“Actually, you should vaccinate the rest of the world to avoid new variants.”

Reports by Deena Beasley in Los Angeles and Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington DC; Edited by Michele Gershberg

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