There’s been a lot of talk about COVID-19 vaccine boosters shots recently. But all that talk might not be necessary as not everyone needs a booster, an expert recently told CNN.
Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, told CNN that the original COVID-19 vaccine doses are doing their job and booster shots might not be completely necessary.
- “We have to define what’s the goal of this vaccine. If the goal of this vaccine is protection against serious illness, meaning the kind of illness that causes you to seek medical attention or go to the hospital or the ICU, the current vaccines, as two-dose vaccines, are doing exactly that,” he told CNN. “So, you don’t really need a booster dose at least as far as those data are concerned.”
Questions about the boosters continue to circle throughout the American population. Right now, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot is available for many Americans. Moderna was recommended on Thursday but it’s unclear if it will get approved. Johnson & Johnson’s booster status is being put up for an FDA committee vote on Friday.
Experts told The New York Times in August that not all Americans will need booster shots since the current vaccine shots are stopping hospitalization and death.
- Still, there are people who might need it, even if they don’t know it yet. In this case, reading up on the boosters will help you make your own decision.
- “I’m sure there’s some confusion,” Rich Lakin, Utah Department of Health immunization director, told the Deseret News. “People need to take the responsibility to kind of educate themselves, also. There’s just too many people to make sure everybody understands.”