Amid COVID surge, Fauci says US could roll out booster doses in weeks

Chief Medical Advisor to President Joe Biden, Anthony Fauci batted for the need of a third COVID-19 vaccine dose – the booster – saying that the roll out is expected in weeks. The booster doses are pending FDA authorisation. 

Fauci, in a briefing on Thursday, said, “There was  good reason to believe that a third dose will actually be durable, and if it is durable, then you’re going to have very likely a three-dose regimen being the routine regimen.”

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However, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases added that it was ultimately up to the  US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to authorise the booster dose. Vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer have applied for FDA authorisation for a third dose either six months or eight months after getting the second dose.

Fauci’s statement comes as the United States is battling with a COVID-19 surge. 

US health officials Wednesday announced plans to dispense COVID-19 booster shots to all Americans to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and signs that the vaccines’ effectiveness is slipping.

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The plan, as outlined by the chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top health authorities, calls for an extra dose eight months after people get their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. The doses could begin the week of Sept. 20.

“Our plan is to protect the American people, to stay ahead of this virus,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said as the agency cited a raft of studies suggesting that the vaccines are losing ground while the highly contagious variant spreads.

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“The recommendation for the booster doses will likely lead to availability for a broad portion of the population, and doses could begin rolling out as early as the week of September 20,” US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday, as per CNN reports. 

“At some point down the line, we may have a way of telling who needs an extra shot, and who doesn’t,” he added.