US considering booster shots at five months

Covid-19 booster shot programme is expected to start next month in US

Booster shot programme in the US is pending approval from the FDA. (Getty Images)

President Joe Biden is considering offering Covid-19 booster shots after five months instead of the previously proposed eight months.

“The question raised is: should it be shorter than eight months, should it be as little as five months? That’s being discussed,” Mr Biden told reporters at the White House.

He went on to add that the plan to offer booster shots beginning in September was “promising” and that it was just waiting for regulatory approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

Earlier this week, the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which previously had emergency authorisation for use.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the current plan is still to give a third dose at eight months. She said the plan may change depending on relevant data developments for certain demographics, but stressed to reporters that “nothing has changed about the eight-month timeline as it relates to the boosters,”

Cases of the coronavirus are still rising across the US as the Delta variant spreads. Health officials also said that rates of vaccination were rising.

Over the last week, deaths have gone up by 11 per cent, cases by three per cent and hospitalisations by six per cent; which marks an eight month high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to their data,  51.2 per cent of people living in the US over the age of 12 have received full vaccinated status.

Other countries, such as Israel have already begun their covid vaccine booster programmes. This is despite criticism from the World Health Organisation, who say that these schemes should not go ahead until all nations have reached a vaccination rate of 10 per cent.

Recent data from Israel showed that a third Covid-19 booster jab gave those over the age of 60 fourfold more protection against the Delta variant. In addition, it gave six times more protection against hospitalisation and serious illness.