MORE Covid-19 jabs might be offered within weeks to help Americans fend off a possible ‘Doomsday’ variant that could prove more severe than previous mutations.
A nationwide vaccine booster strategy to prevent the spread of Covid-19 could be unveiled by early September to coordinate how vaccinated individuals should secure more immunizations.
The urgency to supply extra shots to curb the spread of the disease among both the unvaccinated and vaccinated is being treated with care by the Food and Drug Administration and pushed by the Biden administration, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The concern is that those who are 65 or older, immunocompromised, and also anyone who was vaccinated back December or January may need more boosters, the Journal reported, citing FDA officials.
The strategy is expected to lay out the science proving that vaccine potency wanes over time.
SHOT STRENGTH DROPPING
Data released by vaccine producers Pfizer and BioNTech, acknowledged that the shot’s strength depletes 6percent every two months, the Journal reported.
Early last month, Pfizer confirmed it was in the works to formally approach US regulators to greenlight more doses of its booster shots, including stating that a third shot may be necessary to stop the unrelenting Covid-19 virus.
Last week Moderna confirmed that by September they hoping the FDA will permit those who were jabbed twice with their vaccine to be able to roll up the sleeve for a third time in order to maintain resistance to the variants of the disease.
‘DELTA ON STEROIDS’
What’s vexing health officials the most is the so-called “Doomsday variant.”
It reveals itself when the virus replicates but fails to produce a perfect replica of its genetic material.
The vaccine helps the body rely on its own machinery to produce antibodies by going directly after the virus’ spike protein – but the variants slightly change the shape of the spike protein.
While Covid’s mutation rate is low, an infected person could carry 10 billion copies of the virus.
Though a random mutation may be rare, it can occur which can make a new threatening variant.
So far, the Delta variant has been raging nationwide.
“The number of intensive-care beds needed could be higher than any time we’ve seen,” Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist who leads the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota told Newsweek.
Osterholm noted that based on his team’s projections virtually every single one of the 100 million unvaccinated Americans who managed to avoid catching Covid-19 will likely get it in the coming months.
The even more contagious and deadly Doomsday variant may be far-fetched but far worse than even Delta’s worst which is being described as the most transmissible viruses ever, second only to the measles.
“The next variant could be Delta on steroids,” Osterholm told the publication.
“I wouldn’t be incredibly surprised if something else came along that’s even more transmissible,” Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Director of Molecular Pathology Eric Vail told the publication.
CDC: ‘WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER
Covid-19 vaccinations in the US are climbing, the highest it’s been in nearly seven weeks, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As of Thursday, 165.6million people – roughly half of those eligible Americans – received their Covid-19 vaccinations.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID), said maintained that it’s critical to provide boosters to immunocompromised people.
“We are trying very hard to get the regulatory mechanism in place very soon to get those individuals a boost that might bring up their immunity to the level where it should be, if possible,” he told CNN.
The September window pairs with the World Health Organization’s announcement on Wednesday calling for a moratorium on another round of booster shots until at least the end of September, to enable at least 10percent of the other world populations to catch up and get their jabs.
But despite the recommendation to hit the booster brakes until September country’s like Germany, France, Israel, and the UK are saying they aren’t waiting, CNN reported.
They plan to forge ahead with plans to start rolling out more Covid-19 booster shots that could begin before September.
