- The FDA has granted emergency use authorization for the third injection of Pfizer’s BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
- The extra dose is for solid organ transplant recipients or recipients with an equally weakened immune system.
- The Covid-19 vaccine is free and widely available in the United States, but only half of the population is fully vaccinated.
The United States on Thursday authorized additional doses of Covid vaccine for people with weakened immune systems because the country is working to stop the Delta variant.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory agency granted emergency use authorization for the third injection of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
“The country has entered another wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the FDA is particularly aware that people with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible to serious diseases,” FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement.
The FDA stated that the additional dose is for solid organ transplant recipients or recipients with an equally weakened immune system.
After Israel took similar actions, US health authorities have been debating whether a third dose is needed.
Some American media reported that in order to strengthen the protection of Covid, one million Americans may have received a third dose without authorization.
Woodcook said: “Individuals who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected and no additional doses of Covid-19 vaccine are currently needed.”
Earlier this month, the United States rejected the World Health Organization’s call for a moratorium on booster injections to help alleviate the severe inequality in dose distribution between rich and poor countries.
More than 619 000 people have died of Covid-19 in the United States, and the number of cases has increased sharply in recent months due to the spread of the Delta variant.
The country’s rapid vaccination program has slowed, especially in the politically conservative areas of the South and Midwest, as well as young people, low-income people and ethnic minorities.
Anthony Fauci, the chief U.S. coronavirus adviser, told NBC on Thursday: “At present, we will not provide people with boosters except for the impaired immunity.”
“But we will follow them very carefully, and if they do need it, we will prepare to give them… inevitably there will be a period of time when we have to provide support.”
The Covid-19 vaccine is free and widely available in the United States, but only half of the population is fully vaccinated.
President Joe Biden announced in July that in the event of a surge in hospital admissions, all federal employees must prove that they have been vaccinated or face strict restrictions, such as regular testing.
Driven by the highly contagious Delta variant, coronavirus infections have soared to more than 100,000 per day, the highest level since the surge in winter.
