Health officials tell White House to think more about plan for vaccine booster shots

Scheme is expected to begin on 20 September pending FDA approval

Senior federal health officials have advised the Biden administration to hold off on its vaccine booster plan until further research is completed, say reports.

Dr Janet Woodcock, Food and Drug Administration’s acting commissioner, and Dr Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centres for Disease Control and Infection, said in a briefing with the federal government, there needed to be further inquiries before they can advise that a round of third doses go ahead.

According to the New York Times, they said it also needed to be established if was possible to give people a different dose from a different manufacturer from their first two doses, or even if all people require a third vaccination.

Dr Woodcock and Dr Walensky reportedly asked for more data before any final decisions could be reached. It is believed that Moderna’s FDA approval is lacking data, while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s data has not arrived.

The discussion is said to have taken place during a meeting with Jeff Zients, the White House’s pandemic coordinator. It is unknown how Mr Zients responded, says the Times.

Chris Meagher, a White House spokesperson told newspaper:“We always said we would follow the science, and this is all part of a process that is now underway”. He stressed that they were seeking “full review and approval” for the booster shot scheme from the FDA and the CDC before initiating it.

The plan for booster shots eight months after getting fully vaccinated against covid was announced by President Biden last month. It is scheduled to begin on 20 September, and Mr Biden said that he and the First Lady Jill Biden, would be getting their doses as soon as they can.

On 2 September, Dr Anthony Fauci, Senior Medical Advisor to Mr Biden and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, threw his support behind a potential third dose.

“From my own experience as an immunologist, I would not at all be surprised that the adequate, full regimen for vaccination will likely be three doses,” he said.

The scheme is initially intended to give a third dose include the elderly, healthcare workers and care home residents. Inspiration for the plan came from Israel, the first jurisdiction to give out third doses, beginning with people over 60. However, the Times also reports that the FDA is interested in seeing the “raw data” from that programme, which it is yet to.

Questions have circulated in the medical community about the need for unilateral third doses. A few senior vaccine regulators have resigned from the FDA in protest.

Dr Paul Offit, the director at the Vaccine Education Center in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and member of the FDA’s advisory panel told the Times: “There is no compelling reason to get a third dose”.

Various studies have shown that the vaccines offer strong protection despite waning over time.

“We have seen also data from Israel that there is a waning of immunity and that starts impacting what used to be what was 100% against hospitalization. Now, after the six month period, is becoming low 90s and mid-to-high 80s,” Albert Bourla, the CEO of Pfizer told CNBC in July.

However, despite this dip, being vaccinated still provides advantages over not, especially in light of the Delta variant. Data from the CDC shows unvaccinated people are at much high risk from covid. As the rate of infection among the unvaccinated is five times higher than among the vaccinated.

In addition to this, it showed the rate of hospitalisation is also greater among the unvaccinated. One in 24.9 per 100,000 people are admitted to hospital, while only one in 100,000 vaccinated people are.