Most Americans will likely need to get a third COVID-19 booster shot approximately eight months after becoming fully vaccinated, President Joe Biden’s administration’s administration said on Wednesday.
The administration plans on starting the booster shot rollout in mid to late September, contingent upon authorization from the FDA.
Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Monday that they have submitted data to the FDA which supports the use of booster shots for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The companies said that the third dose could help increase a person’s antibody response against coronavirus as well as Delta and Beta variants. “Given the high levels of immune responses observed, a booster dose given within 6 to 12 months after the primary vaccination schedule may help maintain a high level of protection against COVID-19,” Pfizer said in a statement.
Dr. Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said in a statement: “This initial data indicate that we may preserve and even exceed the high levels of protection against the wild-type virus and relevant variants using a third dose of our vaccine. A booster vaccine could help reduce infection and disease rates in people who have previously been vaccinated and better control the spread of virus variants during the coming season.”
Experts believe that people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will likely also need a booster shot.
J&J has previously stated that a booster dose of their vaccine would not be necessary in the future.
Pfizer and Moderna have both stated that their vaccines offer protection for at least six months.
