Fully-vaccinated Americans do not need a booster dose for now: FDA

Americans who are fully vaccinated against the
coronavirus do not need a booster shot for now, the Food and Drug
Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a
joint statement released Thursday evening.

“Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster
shot at this time. FDA, CDC, and [the National Institutes of Health] are
engaged in a science-based, rigorous process to consider whether or when a
booster might be necessary,” they added.

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The two agencies added that they would continue
to review new data and keep the public informed. “We are prepared for booster
doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed,”
they added.

The CDC also pushed for full vaccination as the
Delta variant, first found in India, spread through the United States becoming the
dominant version of COVID-19.

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According to a study, published in the journal Nature, one dose of the
Pfizer-BioNTech or AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine “barely” protected
people against the Delta variant. But two doses generated a neutralizing
response to the variant in 95% of people.

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The US is currently witnessing a spread of
the Delta variant of the virus, which the experts say is troubling. The CDC said
cases due to the the added up to 51.7% of all new infections. In some parts
of the country, such as the Midwest and upper Mountain States, that number is
closer to 80%, reporst USA Today quoting Dr.
Rochelle Walensky, director of CDC.

This comes on the day Pfizer and BioNTech announced that they
would seek authorization for a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine. The
decision trial results that showed a third shot pushed antibody levels five to
10 times higher against the original strain and the Beta variant compared to
the first two doses alone, according to a statement, reports AFP.