On Wednesday, top US health officials announced their plan to to start offering Covid-19 booster shots to all Americans beginning the third week of September. They cited recent breakthrough cases amongst vaccinated individuals that have resulted in hospitalizations, deaths, or mild to severe symptoms proving the protection the vaccines gives us will diminish overtime, especially among immunocompromised individuals.
“Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout,” federal health officials said in a joint statement Wednesday.
According to NBC:
Individuals would be eligible for a third dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech shots eight months after their second dose.
The rollout of boosters in the general population will likely mirror the original vaccine rollout, with healthcare workers, nursing home residents and people over age 65 first in line.
“We would also begin efforts to deliver booster shots directly to residents of long-term care facilities at that time, given the distribution of vaccines to this population early in the vaccine rollout and the continued increased risk that Covid-19 poses to them,” the statement read.
At this time, there is no plan for those who received Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
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