Annual vaccine booster shots are a possibility in America’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday.
Boosters provide the “optimal” level of protection, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser, said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Asked about the possible necessity of annual COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, Fauci said: “It’s tough to tell.”
“If it becomes necessary to get yet another boost, then we’ll just have to deal with it when that occurs,” he said.
Fauci, who also is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, added that he hoped one booster for the two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and for the one-dose Johnson & Johnson shot will do the job.
U.S. authorities began rolling out booster shots in August amid evidence that vaccines become less effective over time.
Last week, 16- and 17-year-olds who received the Pfizer vaccine became the latest group eligible for booster shots, under authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.
Some health officials have been discussing whether to make booster shots the criterion for what is considered full vaccination.
Fauci said the feds will still consider someone fully vaccinated with two shots of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but he said a booster is still the best bet.
“I think if you look at the data, the more and more it becomes clear that if you want to be optimally protected you really should get a booster,” he said.
———
