CNN
As the world approaches the second anniversary of the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March 11, more nations are rolling out or are discussing the possibility of fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for their most vulnerable. In the United States, leading public health officials say they are very carefully monitoring if or when fourth doses might be needed.
Israel was the first nation to roll out fourth doses, announcing in December that adults 60 and older, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems were eligible to receive the extra shot if at least four months have passed since their third dose.
More recently, the Public Health Agency of Sweden announced last week that second booster doses are recommended for everyone 80 and older in the country. The United Kingdoms Department of Health and Social Care announced Monday that an extra booster dose of coronavirus vaccine will be offered in the spring to adults 75 and older, residents in care homes for older adults and immunosuppressed people 12 and older.
In the United States, health officials emphasized late last year that fourth doses were not yet needed and said it was too premature to be discussing a potential fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine for most people.
Now, the US Food and Drug Administration is indeed continually looking at the emerging data on the pandemic and variants in the United States and overseas in order to evaluate the potential utility and composition of booster doses, FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt wrote in an email to CNN on Friday.
She confirmed that although Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has noted that there is still much uncertainty as to how the pandemic may further evolve, he also has said it is possible that a fourth dose might be recommended as we move into fall.
A fall timeline coincides with the administration of flu shots, which could be convenient for people and makes sense scientifically because respiratory viruses like the coronavirus and influenza tend to peak in the winter months that follow.
As more data become available about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, including the use of a booster dose, we will continue to evaluate the rapidly changing science and keep the public informed, Hunt wrote. Any determination that additional booster doses are needed will be based on data available to the agency.
If or when the FDA authorizes a fourth dose for the public, the next step would be for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review the data before making a recommendation for use, as the agency has done for other coronavirus vaccine recommendations.
The United States has seen significant improvements recently in Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. As of Friday, cases were down 44% from the prior week, hospitalizations dropped 26%, and deaths were 13% lower, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Vaccination and boosting will be critical in maintaining that downward trajectory, particularly when youre talking about the red curve of severe disease leading to hospitalization, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during a White House Covid-19 Task Force briefing Wednesday.
The potential future requirement for an additional boost or a fourth shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines or a third dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being very carefully monitored in real time, Fauci said. And recommendations, if needed, will be updated according to the data as it evolves.
The CDC has no recommendation of fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for the general public, but the agency updated its guidelines in October to note that certain people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may receive a fourth dose of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.
For the immunocompetent people, a single booster shot continues to provide high levels of protection against severe disease caused by Omicron, Fauci said Wednesday. This should not be confused with the fact that for many immunocompromised people, already a second booster shot namely a fourth dose of an mRNA is recommended because of what we know about their poor response to the initial regimen.
Meanwhile, vaccine makers continue to study fourth doses in broader populations.
Pfizer announced in January that it has been studying the safety and efficacy of a fourth dose as part of its ongoing study of an Omicron-specific coronavirus vaccine among healthy adults ages 18 to 55.
For that study, participants have been separated into three cohorts. One includes 600 people who got three doses of the current Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine before enrolling in the study. As part of the research, they will receive either a fourth dose of the current vaccine or a dose of the Omicron-based vaccine.
While current research and real-world data show that boosters continue to provide a high level of protection against severe disease and hospitalization with Omicron, we recognize the need to be prepared in the event this protection wanes over time and to potentially help address Omicron and new variants in the future, Kathrin Jansen, senior vice president and head of vaccine research and development at Pfizer, said in the companys announcement of the study.
A study published by the CDC last week showed that protection against Covid-19 hospitalization and emergency department or urgent care visits is much higher after a third vaccine dose than a second dose but that protection wanes with time.
With the Omicron variant dominant in the United States, vaccine effectiveness was 87% against Covid-19 emergency department or urgent care visits and 91% against hospitalizations in the two months after a third dose. Effectiveness fell to 66% and 78%, respectively, by the fourth month, the data showed.
Nonetheless, the level of 78 is still a good protective area, Fauci said Wednesday.
Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the University of Washingtons Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told CNN on Friday that he thinks having a fourth dose makes very little sense right now but possibly makes more sense this upcoming fall or winter.
Because Omicron is going away, he said, third dose immunity wanes, and so fourth dose will probably wane as well. So we would want to time a fourth-dose push for when either theres a new variant or for next winter. So I think right now, unless youre immunocompromised or youre older, unless you have some personal risk, it doesnt make a lot of sense.
The research showing some waning immunity after a third dose has led to more discussion around if or when fourth doses could be needed.
Just like with everything else, the health departments look at this data thats coming out and wait for guidance from the CDC and from the drug manufacturers. The drug manufacturers have been monitoring vaccine effectiveness, Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN on Friday.
The timing for fourth doses not only depends on waning immunity but also depends on whether we see any more variants emerge and what we discover in terms of additional vaccine effectiveness for any emerging new infections, Freeman said.
If fourth doses are needed, health departments would go into the mode of preparing to administer the fourth dose in the way they have done previous doses, Freeman said. However, of greater concern among local public health officers is the slow and declining pace of people completing their third doses, she said.
About 65% of the US population is fully vaccinated with at least their initial series, and about 28% of the population has received a booster dose, according to the CDC, as of Friday. But the pace of booster doses being administered has dropped to one of the slowest rates yet.
As time goes on, if there is the necessity of a fourth dose, were already behind with people getting the third dose, Freeman said. So all of a sudden, we could have a fairly large segment of the population that is not up to date on vaccines because theyre behind by two doses, potentially, and more people could get sick.
See the original post here:
- Coronavirus Scam Alert: Watch Out For These Risky COVID-19 Websites And Emails - Forbes [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- COVID19: Broome County Executive expected to sign executive orders on virus - WBNG-TV [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Houston-based company ready to test COVID-19 'vaccine candidate,' but doesn't have the funds - KHOU.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- COVID19 Mesa County Public Health [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | SCDHEC [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus disease 2019 - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Hackers are jumping on the COVID-19 pandemic to spread malware - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- COVID-19 can last a few days on surfaces, according to new experiment findings - ABC News [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- The Guardian view on the UKs Covid-19 response: confused and hesitant - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- The COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic Highlights The Importance Of Scientific Expertise - Forbes [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- WHO Expert: Aggressive Action Against Coronavirus Cuts Down On Spread : Goats and Soda - NPR [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- 2 new cases of COVID-19 at Chicago schools - WGN TV Chicago [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Will Gargling with Salt Water or Vinegar 'Eliminate' the COVID-19 Coronavirus? - Snopes.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Worried about dying from COVID-19? You might be a millennial | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Startups developing tech to combat COVID-19 urged to apply for fast-track EU funding - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Why do dozens of diseases wax and wane with the seasonsand will COVID-19? - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- WHO, UN Foundation and partners launch first-of-its-kind COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund - World Health Organization [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Covid-19: PM to address nation tonight - New Straits Times [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- COVID-19: Where every sport lies after mass disruption - RTE.ie [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- COVID-19: Facts, myths and hypotheses | TheHill - The Hill [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Hong Kong Has Largely Survived COVID-19. Can New York and The US Do It Too? - BuzzFeed News [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- UPDATE: Case of COVID-19 confirmed in Wilson County - WITN [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Is This Train Car Carrying 'COVID-19'? - Snopes.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Coronavirus pandemic: facts, updates and what to do about COVID-19 - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- DHS: 34 people test positive for COVID-19 in Wisconsin - WBAY [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- COVID-19 by the numbers; plus key resources to help you stay informed - Berkeleyside [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- The Covid-19 puzzles that scientists are still trying to answer - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- What's the COVID-19 end game? - The San Diego Union-Tribune [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- The Covid-19 coronavirus is not the flu. Its worse. - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Phones Could Track the Spread of Covid-19. Is It a Good Idea? - WIRED [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- NIH Reports First Known Employee with COVID-19 Infection - National Institutes of Health [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Newborn tests positive for COVID-19 in London - Livescience.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Covid-19: Malaysia's pandemic action plan activated for the coronavirus - The Star Online [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- How Bad Will The COVID-19 Coronavirus Epidemic Get In The U.S.? Health Experts Weigh In - Forbes [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- Can People Who Recover from COVID-19 Become Reinfected? - Snopes.com [Last Updated On: March 16th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 16th, 2020]
- THE LATEST: 41 test positive for COVID-19 in the state - WFSB [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Twelve new cases of COVID-19 announced in Illinois; bringing total to 105 - KWQC-TV6 [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Eagle County outlines shift for COVID-19 testing, Vail Health shifts operations - Vail Daily News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- 7th positive COVID-19 case announced in Hawaii, all cases related to travel - KHON2 [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Canada tightens borders over coronavirus will it curb COVID-19s spread? - Global News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- As health care workers prepare for COVID-19, medical students pitch in on the homefront - Minnesota Public Radio News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus First positive case of COVID-19 confirmed in Geauga County Kaylyn Hlavaty 7:58 AM - News 5 Cleveland [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- 2nd presumptive case of COVID 19 reported in Bell County - KWTX [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- New confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin - WKOW [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Hawaii National Guard ready to step in against spread of COVID-19 - KHON2 [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Alberta orders all classes cancelled, daycares closed as COVID-19 cases rise to 56 in the province - Global News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Has Italy Stopped Treating the Elderly in the COVID-19 Pandemic? - Snopes.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus testing: Information on COVID-19 tests according to state health departments - NBCNews.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Working from home because of COVID-19? Here are 10 ways to spend your time - Science Magazine [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Two positive COVID-19 cases announced in Fairbanks, bringing Alaska's confirmed total to 3 - Anchorage Daily News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- 8 more positive cases of COVID-19 brings Michigan total to 33 - FOX 2 Detroit [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- COVID-19: Who Is Infectious? - Forbes [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- The Guardian view on the latest Covid-19 steps: a recipe for isolation - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Government publishes updated COVID-19 industry guidance - GOV.UK [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- NIH clinical trial of investigational vaccine for COVID-19 begins - National Institutes of Health [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Expanding Colorado's COVID-19 Testing Capacity Proves Frustrating to Polis, Doctors And The Public - Colorado Public Radio [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Microsoft Bing launches interactive COVID-19 map to provide pandemic news - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus tips: How to slow the spread of COVID-19 with hand-washing, social distance - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- See Which Countries are Flattening their COVID-19 Curve - Visual Capitalist [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- With launch of COVID-19 data hub, the White House issues a call to action for AI researchers - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- COVID-19 - Cabinet for Health and Family Services [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | AustinTexas.gov [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- First COVID-19 case in Waterbury is confirmed - Waterbury Republican American [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Covid-19 reveals the alarming truth that many children cant wash their hands at school - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Statement on COVID-19 Panel Discussion Notes That Were Attributed to UCSF - UCSF News Services [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Covid-19 coronavirus testing in the US has been absurdly sluggish. That puts us at risk. - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Regal is closing all theaters until further notice over COVID-19 fears - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Amazon limiting shipments to certain types of products due to COVID-19 pandemic - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coralville company to produce millions of kits to test for COVID-19 - KCRG [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Number of COVID-19 cases in Erie County rises to 11, new case confirmed in Wyoming County - WIVB.com - News 4 [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Coronavirus tips and symptoms: What everyone should know about getting the new coronavirus - Vox.com [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Tech giants are getting creative to manage the COVID-19 crisis - The Verge [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- COVID-19: Mental health in the age of coronavirus - UN News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- White House provides an update on COVID-19 testing in the U.S., says theres been a dramatic ramp - TechCrunch [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Covid-19: How long does the coronavirus last on surfaces? - BBC News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2020]
- Hospital in Boston will be converted into Covid-19 treatment center - STAT [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- 78 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Tennessee - NewsChannel5.com [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- COVID 19: Tennessee confirmed cases reaches 52, Dept of Health releases age ranges of those infected - Clarksville Now [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Housing associations under pressure to offer Covid-19 rent holidays - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]
- Sacramento woman dead from COVID-19 attended church with others who have virus - KCRA Sacramento [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2020] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2020]