The effectiveness of the first booster shot has waned.
White House Coronavirus Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha held a press briefing this week where he said the administration is considering how best to recommend another booster shot. On one hand, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have reached an annual high of 5,100 admissions per hospital. On the other hand, most of the hospitalizations are due to the subvariants of Omicron, for which current vaccines are not as effective.
Dr. Jha said that it is up to the FDA and the CDC to confirm that people who get boosted now can do so again in the fall, but that the data so far suggests that “getting vaccinated will not preclude you from getting a variant-specific vaccine later this fall or winter.”
“The reason to get a booster now is to prevent infection now. There’s a lot of infections now and increasing number of hospitalizations now. Certainly, those are hospitalizations, infections, severe disease that we want to prevent right now,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said. “And, you know, potentially more infections to come before that fall booster is available, which is why we really want to make sure people have as much protection as they can right now.”
One-third of eligible Americans have received a first booster dose.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For discernment for federal health leaders as they provide recommendations on the coronavirus booster.
- For Dr. Jha to seek God’s wisdom in advising the president on COVID measures.
- For Director Walensky to have insight as she seeks to protect the national public health.
Sources: The Hill, Axios, NT Times
