WASHINGTON — U.S. experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 vaccine boosters for all Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the shot.
The goal is to ensure lasting protection against the coronavirus as the delta variant spreads across the country. That’s according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
An announcement was expected as soon as this week, with doses beginning to be administered widely once the Food and Drug Administration formally approves the vaccines. U.S. health officials recommended boosters last week for some with weakened immune systems.
This comes after U.S. health officials recommended booster shots for some who are immunocompromised, citing a higher risk of catching COVID-19 and evidence that vaccines' effectiveness declines over time.
Sunday, August 15, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said the U.S. could decide in the next couple of weeks if the COVID-19 booster shot will be available to Americans this upcoming fall. Health care workers, nursing home residents and other older Americans could be the first to receive them, as they did when the vaccine was first released.
Israel has been offering the booster to citizens over 60 who were vaccinated more than 5 months ago.
Officials have said for months that the data still indicated that people remain highly protected from the virus and delta variant, after receiving the full doses Pfizer or Moderna regimen or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. However, U.S. health officials made it clear they are preparing for the possibility that the time for boosters may be coming soon.
“There is a concern that the vaccine may start to wane in its effectiveness,” Collins said. “And delta is a nasty one for us to try to deal with. The combination of those two means we may need boosters, maybe beginning first with health care providers, as well as people in nursing homes, and then gradually moving forward."
Collins says because the delta variant started hitting hard in the U.S. in July, the next couple of weeks of case data will help health officials make a decision.
The White House has said that even though the U.S. has shared more than 110 million vaccine doses across the world, the nation still has enough domestic supply to deliver COVID-19 vaccine boosters to Americans if recommended by health officials.