Yearly vaccine booster shots are a possibility in the US’ battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci has warned.
Fauci, the chief White House medical adviser, said on ABC’s “This Week.” that boosters provide the “optimal” level of protection.
Asked about the possible necessity of annual COVID vaccine booster shots, Fauci said: “It’s tough to tell, but yeah”
“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.
Since scientific evidence came out that vaccines become less effective over time US health authorities began rolling out booster shots in August this year.
With the Omicron variant now in full savage mode, health officials have been discussing whether to make booster shots the criterion for what is considered ‘full vaccination’
Fauci said the US 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.
The death toll inflicted by the virus hovered around 800,000 as of Sunday, December 12 with more than 1,000 COVID deaths being reported every day.
