The country’s leading infectious disease physician, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci defended President Biden’s decision last month to announce the availability of Covid booster vaccines before regulators weigh in, urging previously vaccinated Americans to wait until an extra vaccine is available. get one.
Dr. Statements made by Fauci on three Sunday morning news programs A vote followed on Friday By an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration, which recommended that those who have had the Pfizer vaccine receive additional doses if they are over 65 or at high risk of developing severe Covid-19. The panel’s proposal represented a more limited scheme than Mr. Biden’s. had declared Beginning September 20, during the summer, which he said all fully vaccinated Americans would be eligible for booster vaccines eight months after their last dose.
The panel members concluded that there was not yet sufficient evidence to recommend that the vaccine be over-vaccinated for younger, healthier people. continues to protect Against severe illness and death in this group.
The FDA is expected to make a decision on boosters in the coming days. It usually follows the advice of advisory committees, but is not required to do so.
Mr Biden’s announcement was relevant to regulators at the FDA, as it preceded the agency’s evaluation of data on whether vaccines were necessary. Two top vaccine officials soon announced they would be leaving the agency this fall. the relevant part.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Dr. Fauci said Mr Biden “didn’t get in the way of science”, noting that the president always said the plan was dependent on FDA clearance.
“I think people don’t understand the difference in planning for something and what element of it, what proportion of it, you’re actually going to come up with,” he said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”
Dr. Fauci also asked Americans to be patient and wait until an additional vaccine is available, adding that data on whether an extra shot of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines is needed will be available only weeks later.
“We’re currently working on this to get the data to the FDA so they can review it and make a decision about boosters for these people,” he said. “They are by no means left behind.”
As more information comes in about how the original vaccines work, Dr. Fauci said he expects the plan to change for boosters. “More and more data is accumulating in real time,” he told ABC’s This Week. “This data will be continually re-examined and possible changes to recommendations made.”
Understand the Vaccine and Mask Instructions in the US
-
- vaccination rules. On August 23, the Food and Drug Administration Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine granted full approval It paves the way for people aged 16 and over to increase their tenure in both the public and private sectors. became private companies increasingly mandatory vaccines for employees. Such powers legally allowed and upheld in court appeals.
- Mask rules. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in July suggested The fact that all Americans, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in public in areas with outbreaks was a reversal of the guidance it presented in May. See where the CDC guidance applies, and where states created their own mask policies. The battle over masks has become contentious in some states. local leaders defying state bans.
- Colleges and universities. More than 400 colleges and universities require their students to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Nearly all in states that voted for President Biden.
- Schools. Both of them California and New York City imposes vaccination requirements for education personnel. A survey published in August found that many American parents with school-aged children are against compulsory vaccinations for students, but More support for mask missions for unvaccinated students, teachers and staff.
- Hospitals and medical centers. Many hospitals and major healthcare systems require their employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19. By citing increased caseloads fueled by the delta variant and stubbornly low vaccination rates in their communities, even within the workforce.
- New York City. Proof of vaccination is required for workers and customers. indoor dining, gyms, performances and other indoor situations, but the app doesn’t start until September 13. Teachers and other education workers The city’s large school system will need at least one dose of the vaccine by September 27, with no weekly testing option. City hospital staff they should also be vaccinated or undergo weekly tests. Similar rules apply to New York State employees.
- at the federal level. The Pentagon has announced that it will try to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for the country. 1.3 million active-duty soldiers No later than mid-September. President Biden announced all civilian federal employees would have to get vaccinated against coronavirus or subject to regular testing, social distancing, mask requirements and restrictions on most trips.
Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis S. Collins echoed these words on CBS’s Face the Nation, saying that the category of who is eligible for an extra shot will be expanded “in the coming weeks.”
Dr. Fauci also confirmed that the timeline for approving vaccines for children under 12 is underway this fall. 48 million children He is under 12 years old in the United States and therefore still ineligible for a vaccine.
Pfizer said it expects to announce the results of the vaccine trial for children before the end of September. Dr. The results of Moderna’s trial will likely come in a few weeks, Fauci said.
“By mid to late autumn, we’ll see enough data from 11 to 5 kids to be able to make a decision to vaccinate them,” he said.