American officials have officially announced plans to offer Covid-19 booster shots to the American people saying that data indicates protection “begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination,” so they have concluded that “a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection.”
“Vaccines Authorized In The US Continue To Be Remarkably Effective”
The official statement from CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, Dr. Francis Collins, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Rachel Levine, Dr. David Kessler Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith said, “The Covid-19 vaccines authorized in the United States continue to be remarkably effective in reducing risk of severe disease, hospitalization, and death, even against the widely circulating Delta variant.
“Recognizing that many vaccines are associated with a reduction in protection over time, and acknowledging that additional vaccine doses could be needed to provide long lasting protection, we have been analyzing the scientific data closely from the United States and around the world to understand how long this protection will last and how we might maximize this protection.
“The available data make very clear that protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection begins to decrease over time following the initial doses of vaccination, and in association with the dominance of the Delta variant, we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease.
“We Conclude That A Booster Shot Will Be Needed”
“Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout. For that reason, we conclude that a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.
“We have developed a plan to begin offering these booster shots this fall subject to FDA conducting an independent evaluation and determination of the safety and effectiveness of a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines and CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices [ACIP] issuing booster dose recommendations based on a thorough review of the evidence.
“8 Months After An Individual’s Second Dose”
“We are prepared to offer booster shots for all Americans beginning the week of September 20 and starting 8 months after an individual’s second dose. At that time, the individuals who were fully vaccinated earliest in the vaccination rollout, including many health care providers, nursing home residents, and other seniors, will likely be eligible for a booster.
“We also want to emphasize the ongoing urgency of vaccinating the unvaccinated in the U.S. and around the world. Nearly all the cases of severe disease, hospitalization, and death continue to occur among those not yet vaccinated at all. We will continue to ramp up efforts to increase vaccinations here at home and to ensure people have accurate information about vaccines from trusted sources.
“We will also continue to expand our efforts to increase the supply of vaccines for other countries, building further on the more than 600 million doses we have already committed to donate globally.”
The statement above pertains to the USA, and Bermuda is, obviously, a separate jurisdiction, however we have been using the same vaccines the US has.
