Updated August 18th, 2021 at 22:35 IST

Biden administration plans to offer COVID booster shots in US from September

US government is preparing to provide COVID-19 booster injections as early as next month. The doses will be available eight months after the second dose.

Reported by: Anwesha Majumdar
Image Credit: AP | Image:self
Advertisement

According to sources, the Joe Biden administration stated that everyone in the United States who got a COVID-19 vaccine would need a booster shot to keep protection from fading. As the country faces a new wave of COVID-19 infection spurred by the delta variety, the government is preparing to provide coronavirus booster injections as early as next month. Sources state the Biden administration authorities are developing a strategy to prescribe booster doses in eight months after people receiving their second dosage. The proposal hasn't been completed yet, but an announcement may be made as soon as this week. 

If the idea is approved, booster injections may start at the beginning of September. The idea would require approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, according to the sources. It would even limit the frequency of US vaccine contributions internationally, which excess doses have fueled. Those will be kept back to act as booster doses until this month. Nearly 170 million people in the United States have been inoculated, and they may be qualified for booster shots in the coming months. 

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, has asked for a pause on Covid-19 booster injections until September to let poorer nations catch up on immunisation rates. 

It is becoming visible that the booster doses would compel Biden to relaunch a sagging immunisation program that had failed in participants about months ago. Case counts dropped until late spring across the country, only to spike again with the advent of the delta strain, which has spread mainly among the immunised. 

The increase in instances has resulted in a modest rise in vaccines, with an estimate of around 770,000 daily injections, which was just roughly 500,000 in July. 

Early instances of booster doses

Biden administration officials have previously mentioned the Booster injections as a potential option, yet they've only been approved for immunocompromised patients. Last week, Rochelle Walensky, head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, advised that Americans wait until they are entitled to a booster shot. According to one source, High-risk groups, such as front-line employees and the aged person, would receive booster injections first, allowing them to reach the 8-month milestone the quickest.  

Biden called for all individuals to be eligible by April 19, while several states had already done so. A booster wouldn't even be available for them until January for those who started immunisation when eligibility was completely opened on April 19. Though there are certain doubtful scenarios, the booster shots would be provided to people who received Johnson & Johnson's one-shot vaccination. The injection was just approved in February, so users wouldn't be entitled to boosters before late October at the latest if the eight-month schedule holds. According to the sources, the government is awaiting data before deciding how to move with J&J.

Image Credit: AP

Advertisement

Published August 18th, 2021 at 22:35 IST