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- Aug. 12, 2021, 12:51 p.m. ET
With approval for additional Covid-19 vaccine shots for immunocompromised people “imminent,” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert, said on Thursday that federal health authorities were “likely” to call for third shots as boosters for a broader swath of the population at some point, though there was no immediate need to do so.
In an interview on the CBS program “This Morning,” Dr. Fauci noted that federal health authorities were tracking various cohorts of vaccinated people and had seen some early signs that the shots may need shoring up.
“We are already starting to see indications in some sectors about a diminution over time” in vaccines’ durability, Dr. Fauci said That is often the case with vaccines. Dr. Fauci made the same points in an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday.
Federal regulators are expected to authorize as soon as Thursday additional shots for people with weakened immune systems. In an interview last week, Dr. Fauci made the point that, for people with weakened immune systems, “giving them an additional shot is almost not considered a booster, it’s considered part of what their original regimen should have been,” since they need more vaccine to be protected.
In contrast, boosters would be used in the broader population to counter any diminution of the vaccines’ protective power.
There are no immediate plans to authorize boosters, Dr. Fauci said, but federal authorities are actively monitoring different groups for signs of waning protection.
“We are following cohorts of individuals, elderly, younger individuals, people in nursing homes, to determine if in fact the level of protection is starting to attenuate,” Dr. Fauci said. “And when it does get to a certain level we will be prepared to give boosters” — preferably, he added, with the same vaccine received earlier.
The debate over booster shots has grown more urgent as the extremely contagious Delta variant runs rampant in the country, especially in populations with lower rates of vaccination.
Over the past week, an average of roughly 124,200 coronavirus cases has been reported each day in the United States, an increase of 86 percent from two weeks ago. Average daily hospitalizations are up to more than 68,800, an 82 percent increase over the last two weeks. The number of new deaths reported is up by 75 percent, to an average of 552 deaths per day.
Countries like Britain, France, Germany and Israel have already announced plans to provide third vaccine doses to certain groups.
Understand the State of Vaccine and Mask Mandates in the U.S.
- Mask rules. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July recommended that all Americans, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in indoor public places within areas experiencing outbreaks, a reversal of the guidance it offered in May. See where the C.D.C. guidance would apply, and where states have instituted their own mask policies. The battle over masks has become contentious in some states, with some local leaders defying state bans.
- Vaccine rules . . . and businesses. Private companies are increasingly mandating coronavirus vaccines for employees, with varying approaches. Such mandates are legally allowed and have been upheld in court challenges.
- College and universities. More than 400 colleges and universities are requiring students to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Almost all are in states that voted for President Biden.
- Schools. On Aug. 11, California announced that it would require teachers and staff of both public and private schools to be vaccinated or face regular testing, the first state in the nation to do so. A survey released in August found that many American parents of school-age children are opposed to mandated vaccines for students, but were more supportive of mask mandates for students, teachers and staff members who do not have their shots.
- Hospitals and medical centers. Many hospitals and major health systems are requiring employees to get a Covid-19 vaccine, citing rising caseloads fueled by the Delta variant and stubbornly low vaccination rates in their communities, even within their work force.
- New York. On Aug. 3, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York announced that proof of vaccination would be required of workers and customers for indoor dining, gyms, performances and other indoor situations, becoming the first U.S. city to require vaccines for a broad range of activities. City hospital workers must also get a vaccine or be subjected to weekly testing. Similar rules are in place for New York State employees.
- At the federal level. The Pentagon announced that it would seek to make coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for the country’s 1.3 million active-duty troops “no later” than the middle of September. President Biden announced that all civilian federal employees would have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to regular testing, social distancing, mask requirements and restrictions on most travel.
Global health authorities have called booster shots a questionable use of the insufficient supply of vaccines while much of the world has not been inoculated, including front line health workers and other high-risk people.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, called last week for a moratorium on boosters until the end of September, so that all countries would ideally have enough doses to vaccinate at least 10 percent of their populations.
“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant,” Dr. Tedros said. “But we cannot — and we should not — accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable people remain unprotected.”
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said later that day that the United States had enough vaccine to provide third doses to people if it is decided that they are needed, while still donating large vaccine supplies to other countries.
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