The COVID-19 pandemic has killed the lives of one in 500 Americans, according to Johns Hopkins University. Now, the battle for reinforcement shots is intensifying.
Pfizer and Moderna are making a big push for the boosters, but the Food and Drug Administration remains neutral.
The FDA released new Pfizer documents on Wednesday ahead of an advisory panel meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss COVID reinforcements. Documents state that protection against the Pfizer vaccine loses some effectiveness after six months, but improves by up to 95% after a third dose.
In a separate document, FDA staff noted that it has not yet verified some data to support an additional dose, saying current vaccines “still offer protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death in the United States.” “.
Across the United States, the problem is not the third dose, but it is convincing Americans to have it. first dose.
In Tennessee, less than 45% of the population is completely vaccinated. In Shelby County, which includes Memphis, children account for 35% of active cases in the past two weeks.
“If we managed to further increase our vaccination rates, if we managed to get people constantly masked, we would do the job of protecting children under 12 who don’t really have the option to get vaccinated right now,” Dr. Michelle Taylor, county health director.
Jacob Rodrigues, 17, of Tipton County, had no vaccine when he obtained COVID. “(I) felt very tired, headache. I couldn’t try anything. It was terrible,” he said.
His mother, Julie McDivitt, said a nurse told her that “it looks like Jacob has played four quarters of football without pads inside his body.”
He said hearing it from a medical professional made him wonder, “God, where are you taking us with this? Am I going to be on this list? Will my son be one of those numbers?”
President Biden met on Wednesday with CEOs to argue its vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 employees. In Memphis, that means entrepreneurs like FedEx and AutoZone.