In Washington, D.C. two masks are better than one, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci who once boasted that Americans should not wear face masks to protect themselves from COVID-19. It turns out, Fauci admitted he said that only to protect the government from civilian face mask stockpiling.
Now, Pfizer, who once said two shots of COVID-19 vaccines were good to protect all Americans, is asking for approval for a third vaccination shot by the Food & Drug Administration.
In an attempt to push another round of vaccinations on Americans, Pfizer’s Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said people who have been vaccinated in January or February are already seeing a drop in protection against the disease with their vaccine.
“The Pfizer vaccine is highly active against the Delta variant,” Dolsten said in an interview. “But after six months, there likely is the risk of reinfection as antibodies, as predicted, wane. It’s a small data set, but I think the trend is accurate: Six months out, given that Delta is the most contagious variant we have seen, it can cause infections and mild disease.”
The CDC disputed the Pfizer claim and said it will not endorse approval for a third shot.
“The United States is fortunate to have highly effective vaccines that are widely available for those aged 12 and up. People who are fully vaccinated are protected from severe disease and death, including from the variants currently circulating in the country such as Delta. People who are not vaccinated remain at risk. Virtually all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are among those who are unvaccinated,” the CDC said in a joint statement with the FDA. “We encourage Americans who have not yet been vaccinated to get vaccinated as soon as possible to protect themselves and their community.”
This time, even Fauci’s National Institute of Health is putting the brakes on it.
“Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time. FDA, CDC, and NIH are engaged in a science-based, rigorous process to consider whether or when a booster might be necessary,” the three agencies said in a joint statement.
This process takes into account laboratory data, clinical trial data, and cohort data – which can include data from specific pharmaceutical companies, but does not rely on those data exclusively. We continue to review any new data as it becomes available and will keep the public informed. We are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed.”
Fauci has long suggested that COVID-19 annual boosters could become a reality like the flu shot at some point in the future, but said now is not the time.
“The bottom line is, we don’t know if or when we will need booster shots,” Fauci said in an NBC news interview. “But it would be foolish not to prepare for the eventuality that we might need it.”
