Top FDA and WHO Scientists Call COVID-19 Booster Shots Unnecessary For Most Americans At This Time
Summary from the AllSides News Team
An international group of scientists published a paper Monday that suggests more scientific evidence is needed to justify giving booster shots to most Americans at this time. Co-authors included Marion Gruber and Phil Krause, two senior FDA officials who are leaving the organization later this fall over frustrations with the Biden administration’s "premature" booster plan, along with several scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO). The report concludes that vaccine "efficacy against severe disease remains high" except for individuals with compromised immune systems, and highlights how "the unvaccinated are still the major drivers of transmission" during this stage of the pandemic. WHO scientists argued that the U.S. should prioritize giving doses to countries with low vaccination rates to reduce the risk of serious illness and emerging variants. The paper also emphasized the importance of creating "clear public health messaging before boosting" to mitigate vaccine hesitancy. While the CDC and FDA advised the White House to slow down its vaccine booster plan earlier this month, the Biden administration has yet to delay its plans to begin widely offering the third shots on Sept. 20. The FDA will meet with an outside panel of experts on Sept. 17 to further review the Pfizer/BioNTech booster shot.
The Biden administration's booster shot plan continues to divide voices across the spectrum. Left-rated outlets were more likely to suggest that the evidence is "evolving," noting the similar strategy used to distribute annual flu shots. Some right-rated voices expressed support for prioritizing U.S. booster shots over helping other nations.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Departing FDA regulators pan Covid boosters in paperTwo senior U.S. vaccine regulators who are leaving the FDA came out against giving Covid-19 booster shots to the general population now in a research paper published Monday that concludes current science on vaccine efficacy doesn't support giving third shots to most Americans.
The paper, co-authored by Marion Gruber and Philip Krause and published in The Lancet, deals a blow to the FDA and to the Biden administration just days before an external agency panel is set to review the case for doling out Pfizer-BioNTech boosters. The scientists recently announced plans to retire...
From the Right
COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Not Widely Needed, Top FDA and WHO Scientists SayAdditional COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are not needed for the general population, leading scientists including two departing senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials and several from the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an article published in a medical journal on Monday.
The scientists said more evidence was needed to justify boosters. That view disagrees with U.S. government plans to begin offering another round of shots to many fully vaccinated Americans as soon as next week, contingent on approval from health regulators.
As COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta...
From the Center
FDA vaccine regulators argue against Covid-19 vaccine boosters in new international reviewA group of international experts — including, notably, two outgoing Food and Drug Administration vaccine regulators — argues in a new paper against offering Covid-19 vaccine boosters to the general population.
The paper, published Monday in the Lancet, is based on a review of available data about the durability of vaccine protection. That it was co-authored by Marion Gruber and Phil Krause, two veteran FDA officials who have been leading the agency’s review of Covid-19 vaccine applications, amounts to a strikingly direct rebuff to the Biden administration as it lays plans for...
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