Booster shots for Covid-19 are losing their potency after about four months, according to the Centers for Disease Control, in a report released Friday.
“There may be the need for yet again another boost — in this case, a fourth-dose boost for an individual receiving the mRNA — that could be based on age, as well as underlying conditions,” said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Biden Administration Covid expert, speaking to the media. “So, I don’t think you’re going to be hearing, if you do, any kind of recommendations that would be across the board for everyone. It very likely will take into account what subset of people have a diminished, or not, protection against the important parameters such as hospitalization.”
Based on the latest CDC data, the agency estimates over 66 percent of all eligible adults, and over 80 percent of all eligible seniors, who are considered at greatest risk for serious effects of Covid, have received a booster shot. Those shots have warded off serious illness, hospitalization, and death, but the protection fades more quickly than Americans would expect of a normal vaccine.
Research from Israel and Britain indicates that boosters decline in efficacy after a few months, the White House said on Friday.
The agency is not yet recommending a fourth shot, but based on its previous actions, that recommendation could come within a few weeks, starting with the elderly.
When asked about the CDC’s universal masking recommendation for schools and whether it’s time to change that recommendation, the CDC’s Director Rochelle Walensky dodged the question entirely: “So we certainly understand the need and desire to be flexible, and we want to ensure the public health guidance that we’re providing meets the moment that we’re in. As we’ve discussed and as you noted, cases and hospitalizations are falling. This is, of course, encouraging. And that leads us, of course, to have us look at all of our guidance based on the latest data and the science and what we know about the virus. We also look, of course, as Jeff mentioned, to our hospitalizations, looking at the hospitals as a barometer of how they’re doing locally so those decisions can be made at the local level. And, of course, we at CDC will keep the public informed about our guidance, and we will clearly communicate those recommendations to the public if and when they are updated.”
No reporter credentialed to be at the briefing asked the White House about adverse reactions or complications that have arisen for some Americans receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.
