Health experts urge patience on widespread use of COVID-19 booster shots

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, said, “Ultimately, a real, proper diet will be the basic two shots and a boost.” He said the top priority of officials is to vaccinate illiterate Americans.

He also said that the process of expanding the booster to a wider group of people involves an analysis of the risk-benefit trade-off for young people.

An FDA panel Friday recommended additional Pfizer injections in addition to the initial two-dose for people 65 and older or at high risk of serious disease, but stopped short of supporting them for the wider population. This week, medical experts advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected to clarify who would fall into the high-risk category.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said he expects widespread acceptance of the booster soon.

“Certainly, I think there will be a decision in the coming weeks to extend the booster beyond the list that they approved on Friday,” said Dr. Collins said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Several FDA panel members said they had concerns about widening booster shots for the general population with limited data on whether additional doses would be safe and effective or still needed for all.

Dr. Fauci said on CNN that officials are likely to have enough data in two to three weeks to decide on booster shots from two other manufacturers, Moderna Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

The booster-shot debate has divided US health officials and medical experts, confused some Americans and complicated the Biden administration’s broader vaccine plans.

Meanwhile, Republicans continued to criticize the administration’s handling of the pandemic, including President Biden’s vaccine mandates for some corporate employees and federal employees designed to boost vaccination rates and slow the spread of the pandemic. went.

Under the mandate announced this month, businesses with 100 or more employees will be required to vaccinate their employees or have at least a weekly Covid-19 test. Violations by employers will result in a fine of approximately $14,000. The Biden administration would require federal employees in the executive branch as well as government contractors to vaccinate against COVID-19.

Many Republican officials have criticized the mandate, saying vaccination should be a personal choice.

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican whose state has been hit hard by Covid-19 in recent weeks, said the president was creating an unnecessary conflict between getting vaccinated and going to work.

Mr. Reeves said, “He wants to shift the political narrative away from Afghanistan and away from other issues that are grounding his election data and let us focus on a political battle in addition to those issues.” ,” said Mr. Reeves.