US FDA experts oppose COVID-19 booster shot plan, say two doses of vaccine 'working well'

An international group of scientists, including two US FDA experts, have said that an average person doesn’t need a COVID-19 booster shot yet. In a scientific journal, authors, including Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine reviewers Dr. Phil Krause and Dr. Marion Gruber, said that even in a population with high vaccination rates, the unvaccinated are still the major drivers of transmission. The health experts reviewed studies of the vaccines’ performance and concluded that the shots are "working well" against severe disease, and they are also working perfectly despite the extra-contagious delta variant. 

According to AP, in the opinion piece, the leading vaccine researchers in the US, Britain, France, South Africa and India, plus scientists with the WHO, debated about who needs booster doses and when. They reviewed worldwide studies since the delta variant began spreading. The health experts concluded, “none of these studies has provided credible evidence of substantially declining protection against severe disease”. 

They said the body builds layers of immunity and gradual decline in antibody levels don’t necessarily mean that overall effectiveness is reducing. They added that “reductions in vaccine efficacy against mild disease also do not necessarily predict reductions in the (typically higher) efficacy against severe disease”. Talking about the advantages of creating booster doses, the scientists said that they would better match circulating variants than from just giving extra doses of the original vaccine. 

“There is an opportunity now to study variant-based boosters before there is widespread need for them,” the scientists wrote.

US preparing to provide booster shot

Meanwhile, amid the spread of the Delta variant, the Biden administration has announced that it is preparing to provide booster injection sometime later this month. The White House officials are developing a strategy to prescribe booster doses in the eight months after receiving the second dosage. The idea, however, still needs the US FDA and CDC approval. Experts will weigh evidence about an extra Pfizer shot Friday at a key public meeting, AP reported. 

The WHO, on the other hand, has urged the countries to temporarily suspend their plans of booster shots. Earlier this month, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had urged the nations to not administer booster shots to those who have been fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine. Addressing a media briefing, the WHO chief called for an "extension of the moratorium" on booster doses for at least until the end of the year so that every country vaccinates at least 40 per cent of its population. 

(With inputs from AP)