We have another clue as to when we’ll see a third COVID-19 booster shot, and it’s sooner than you think.
When will there be a COVID vaccine for the delta variant?
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner during the Trump administration, recently told CNBC that the next round of COVID-19 vaccine shots will be distributed to vulnerable populations beginning in September.
- “My guess is sometime by September or October we will be giving booster shots to older individuals and certainly immunocompromised,” he said. “I just think we’re on a slower path here.”
Gottlieb told CNBC that people vaccinated early in the pandemic should be considering getting a booster shot now to avoid losing immunity strength against the coronavirus, including the highly transmissible delta variant.
- “Quite frankly, it’s unfortunate because I do believe at least for older individuals and people who were vaccinated back in December, January should be contemplating this more actively,” he said, according to CNBC.
- ”(This is) certainly concerning because eventually those infections are going to break through and develop into more severe disease,” he told CNBC.
Is the third COVID-19 vaccine approved?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration released a rare joint statement in the middle of July about the potential third COVID-19 vaccine shot, explaining that it’s not time for Americans to get another shot yet, according to CNN.
- “Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time,” the two agencies said in the joint statement.
But Pfizer said it will reach out to the FDA for authorization for the third COVID-19 booster shot, as I wrote for the Deseret News. The vaccine developer said it has been building a booster that could tackle the delta variant.