Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has stated that the United States government will not advise fully vaccinated Americans to receive a booster of their coronavirus vaccine. Based on the present available data, Dr. Fauci said that a booster shot is currently unnecessary.
However, coronavirus studies are ongoing, and the United States will continue to evaluate whether booster vaccine shots could be necessary for Americans in the future. As Dr. Fauci told CNN, “There’s a lot of work going on to examine this in real time to see if we might need a boost. But right now, given the data that the CDC and the FDA has, they don’t feel that we need to tell people right now that you need to be boosted.”
A statement from the CDC and the FDA was issued after biopharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it is increasing efforts to create a booster dose. Pfizer claims that Covid-19 immunity provided from their vaccine may diminish over time. According to the CDC and FDA, Americans who have received both doses of their vaccine “do not need a booster shot at this time.” The CDC and FDA also said that they are “engaged in a science-based, rigorous process to consider whether or when a booster might be necessary” and that they are “prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed.”
Fauci said on CNN that this announcement was “based on data that’s evidence that proves we need to go in this direction,” and that he will continue to make recommendations regarding booster shots as the data evolves.
