Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently revealed what she hopes will happen with the new COVID-19 booster shots.
- She said on the “Today” show that the CDC is “hopeful” the COVID-19 boosters will “give you a higher level of protection, not just against the delta variant but against a broad range of variants.”
- She said the CDC hopes the boosters will “decrease the level of virus that you have and make it less transmissible.”
- Specifically, the new COVID-19 booster shot will “optimize” and “extend that protection longer.”
Walensky said there is some evidence right now “that the vaccine is starting to wane in its effectiveness against infection.”
- “It’s still holding up relatively well against severe disease and hospitalization, but we’ve also seen that we actually need more protection against the delta virus.”
On Wednesday, U.S. health officials said all Americans should get COVID-19 booster shots beginning in September. The announcement was made after new data showed that fully vaccinated people can still get COVID-19 and that vaccine efficacy wanes with time.
- The delta variant has only made these matters more complicated, as it has increased transmissibility between fully vaccinated and unvaccinated people alike.
- “We are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease,” officials told The New York Times.
- These COVID-19 booster shots will start being offered on Sept. 20, per The Associated Press.