a bit murky about protection against severe disease,” Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who reviewed the data, told the Times.
Dr. Jesse Goodman, a former chief scientist with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says the data shows “worrisome trends” that hint at waning efficacy. But he told the Times that he would like to see more detail from Israel and data indicating whether the United States is headed down the same road.
READ: New Study Shows Blacks Vaccination Rates Much Higher Than Publicized
How will the booster shots work?
Federal officials say the U.S. booster program will almost certainly follow the same scenario as the initial vaccination program, the Times says. The first shots for the general public in the United States were administered on Dec. 14, days after the FDA. authorized the Pfizer shot for emergency use. People started receiving the Moderna vaccine a week later.
The regulatory path for additional shots is not entirely clear. Pfizer filed data to the FDA on Monday that showed the safety and effectiveness of a booster shot, but the data was preliminary. Moderna is also exploring the safety and efficacy of both a half-dose and a full dose as a third shot.
About 60% of the U.S. population has gotten at least one dose and nearly 51% are fully vaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That, in turn, has caused a shortage of intensive care unit beds, nurses and other front-line staff in areas that can no longer keep up with the flood of unvaccinated patients.
“That’s heartbreaking, considering we never thought we would be back in that space again,” Collins said on Fox News Sunday. “But here we are with the Delta variant, which is so contagious, and this heartbreaking situation where 90 million people are still unvaccinated who are sitting ducks for this virus, and that’s the mess we’re in. We’re in a world of hurt.”
In the meantime, the World Health Organization — citing a lack of global supply of vaccines — has objected to richer nations moving ahead with booster shots when citizens of many poorer countries have yet to receive even a first dose of vaccine.
READ: 5 Good Reasons for Kids to Get the COVID Vaccine
FDA OKs Third COVID Shot for Most Vulnerable Americans
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week authorized a third “booster” shot of coronavirus vaccines for people with weakened immune systems, as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to surge across the country.
Expanding the emergency use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines should help protect those patients who are considered most vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. The authorization includes people who have had solid organ transplants and those whose immune systems are equally compromised, the FDA says.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine wasn’t included in the authorization because there isn’t sufficient data yet on that vaccine, according to the agency.
Concern for the immune-compromised
With the booster dose approved, doctors will now have the leeway to give additional shots to vulnerable patients. About 3 percent of Americans have weakened immune systems for numerous reasons, from a history of cancer to the use of certain medications such as steroids.
“The country has entered yet another wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease,” Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock says in a statement. “After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.”
“Other individuals who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected and do not need