Severely immunocompromised people may require a fourth mRNA coronavirus shot, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The agency didn’t provide an official recommendation about a fourth shot in its updated guidelines, but did say that people should talk to their doctors to determine if one is necessary, CNN reports.
In August, the CDC authorized a third dose for certain immunocompromised people 18 and older who may not have a complete immune response from the first two doses.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved booster shots of all three available vaccines in the United States for certain people, including those with compromised immune systems.
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Why would a fourth shot be needed?
According to the CDC, small studies have found that fully vaccinated immunocompromised people accounted for about 44% of the breakthrough cases that led to hospitalization.
And one Johns Hopkins University study found that vaccinated immunocompromised people were 485 times more likely than most