A Fourth Covid-19 Shot Might Be Recommended This Fall, as Officials 'continually' Look at Emerging Data
Jacqueline Howard
2/23/2022 7:28:11 PM
Jacqueline Howard wrote this article in CNN:
As the world approaches the second anniversary of the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March 11, more nations are rolling out -- or are discussing the possibility of -- fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for their most vulnerable. In the United States, leading public health officials say they are "very carefully" monitoring if or when fourth doses might be needed.
Israel was the first nation to roll out fourth doses, announcing in December that adults 60 and older, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems were eligible to receive the extra shot if at least four months have passed since their third dose.
More recently, the Public Health Agency of Sweden announced last week that second booster doses are recommended for everyone 80 and older in the country. The United Kingdom's Department of Health and Social Care announced Monday that an extra booster dose of coronavirus vaccine will be offered in the spring to adults 75 and older, residents in care homes for older adults and immunosuppressed people 12 and older.
In the United States, health officials emphasized late last year that fourth doses were not yet needed and said it was too premature to be discussing a potential fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine for most people.
Now, the US Food and Drug Administration "is indeed continually looking at the emerging data on the pandemic and variants in the United States and overseas in order to evaluate the potential utility and composition of booster doses," FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt wrote in an email to CNN on Friday.
She confirmed that although Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has noted that there is still much uncertainty as to how the pandemic may further evolve, he also has said it is possible that a fourth dose might be recommended as we move into fall.
A fall timeline coincides with the administration of flu shots, which could be convenient for people and makes sense scientifically because respiratory viruses -- like the coronavirus and influenza -- tend to peak in the winter months that follow.
As the world approaches the second anniversary of the declaration of the Covid-19 pandemic by the World Health Organization, on March 11, more nations are rolling out -- or are discussing the possibility of -- fourth doses of coronavirus vaccine for their most vulnerable. In the United States, leading public health officials say they are "very carefully" monitoring if or when fourth doses might be needed.
Israel was the first nation to roll out fourth doses, announcing in December that adults 60 and older, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems were eligible to receive the extra shot if at least four months have passed since their third dose.
More recently, the Public Health Agency of Sweden announced last week that second booster doses are recommended for everyone 80 and older in the country. The United Kingdom's Department of Health and Social Care announced Monday that an extra booster dose of coronavirus vaccine will be offered in the spring to adults 75 and older, residents in care homes for older adults and immunosuppressed people 12 and older.
In the United States, health officials emphasized late last year that fourth doses were not yet needed and said it was too premature to be discussing a potential fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine for most people.
Now, the US Food and Drug Administration "is indeed continually looking at the emerging data on the pandemic and variants in the United States and overseas in order to evaluate the potential utility and composition of booster doses," FDA spokesperson Alison Hunt wrote in an email to CNN on Friday.
She confirmed that although Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, has noted that there is still much uncertainty as to how the pandemic may further evolve, he also has said it is possible that a fourth dose might be recommended as we move into fall.
A fall timeline coincides with the administration of flu shots, which could be convenient for people and makes sense scientifically because respiratory viruses -- like the coronavirus and influenza -- tend to peak in the winter months that follow.