US health officials are expected to recommend soon that all adults receive a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine booster dose, the Associated Press reports.
Food and Drug Administration officials authorized last week a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, which are given in two-dose regimens, for people who are immunocompromised. Janet Woodcock, the acting FDA commissioner, said there was evidence that "this small, vulnerable group may benefit" from a booster, but there was not yet evidence that other fully vaccinated individuals need a booster vaccine.
The Hill reports that National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins says that emerging data from Israel suggests that boosters may be warranted and that officials have been meeting "almost daily."
"There is a concern that the vaccine may start to wane in its effectiveness," Collins says, according to the AP. "And Delta is a nasty one for us to try to deal with. The combination of those two means we may need boosters."
According to the New York Times, the Biden Administration is poised to announce that people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine should get a booster dose about eight months after their last initial dose. The Times adds that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will likely also be recommended, though officials are awaiting data from its two-dose clinical trial.
The World Health Organization, however, has called for a pause on providing SARS-CoV-2 vaccine boosters until more of the global population has received their initial vaccinations.