America to Start Administering COVID-19 Booster Shots on This Date

U.S. health authorities announced today, Wednesday, that they will begin administering booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine starting September 20. They added that the protection provided by COVID-19 vaccines diminishes over time. Pfizer and BioNTech stated that they have submitted early clinical trial data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of their request for authorization for a booster vaccine against COVID-19 for individuals aged 16 and older, not just those with weakened immune systems. The companies mentioned in a press release last Monday that in the phase one trial, a booster shot produced "significantly higher neutralizing antibodies" against the original strain of the coronavirus, as well as the Beta and Delta variants. They noted that participants in the trial received a third dose of the two-dose vaccine approximately 8 to 9 months after their second dose. Pfizer's CEO, Albert Bourla, stated, "The data we've seen so far indicates that a third dose of our vaccine generates antibody levels that far exceed those seen after the initial two-dose schedule." This announcement from the pharmaceutical makers follows federal health officials' approval on Friday to administer Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccines to Americans with weakened immune systems, including cancer patients, HIV patients, and individuals who have undergone organ transplants. New U.S. data indicate that individuals with weakened immunity do not generate an adequate immune response after receiving two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.