Here’s Why The Biden Administration Is Speeding Up Booster Shots

Politico: Troubling CDC Vaccine Data Convinced Biden Team To Back Booster Shots
Top Biden administration health officials concluded that most Americans will soon need coronavirus booster shots after reviewing a raft of new data from the Centers for Disease Control that showed a worrying drop in vaccine efficacy over time, four administration officials told POLITICO. The evidence, compiled by federal scientists over the past several months, showed a decline in the initial round of protection against Covid-19 infection that's coincided with a resurgence in cases driven by the more contagious Delta variant. The data looked at vaccine effectiveness in individuals across age groups, with varying medical conditions and who received the shot at different times. It was presented to White House Covid-19 task force officials at a meeting Sunday. (Cancryn, Banco and Owermohle, 8/17)

CNBC: Covid Vaccine Booster Shots: NIH Director Says New Israel Data Is Building Case In The U.S.
New data from Israel on the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines over time is causing U.S. health leaders to rethink their position on vaccine booster shots in the U.S., National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Tuesday. “The people who got immunized in January are the ones that are now having more breakthrough cases,” Collins said during an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” referring to Covid infections in fully vaccinated individuals. Israel released new data Monday showing a reduction in the effectiveness of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine against severe illness among people 65 and older who were fully vaccinated in January or February. (Lovelace Jr., 8/17)

NBC News: Why Eight Months? What's Behind The Timing Of The Covid Booster Shot
Federal health officials are expected Wednesday to present evidence for why people are likely to need Covid-19 boosters eight months after their second doses of a vaccine, according to sources with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The eight-month time frame is most likely based on findings from both the U.S. and abroad looking at how the vaccines have held up over time — and whether they can stand up to the hypertransmissible delta variant of the coronavirus that has overtaken the country. (Edwards and Chuck, 8/17)

KHN: Rush To Boosters Sparks Confusion, Differing Recommendations
When the Food and Drug Administration announced last week that a third dose of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine may boost the immunity of some people who are immunocompromised, officials repeated their stance that fully vaccinated, healthy people do not need another dose. With this caveat: “The FDA is actively engaged in a science-based, rigorous process with our federal partners to consider whether an additional dose may be needed in the future,” said acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock. (Tribble, 8/18)

Major cities begin administering booster shots —

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Immunocompromised People Now Eligible For Boosters In Milwaukee
Individuals who are immunocompromised are now eligible to receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from the City of Milwaukee Health Department, Mayor Tom Barrett announced at an afternoon press conference. This would allow individuals who may not have had as robust an initial response to the vaccine series to receive a third shot of either the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. (Bentley, Swales and Dirr, 8/17)

Detroit Free Press: Immunocompromised In Metro Detroit Getting 3rd COVID-19 Vaccine
Two county health departments in metro Detroit began offering third-dose COVID-19 vaccines Tuesday to people with compromised immune systems, a third will start making appointments next week and a fourth is working out the details on how to get the shots to eligible residents. The Oakland and Washtenaw county health departments began administering the third dose of mRNA vaccines, either Pfizer or Moderna, to immunocompromised people Tuesday, officials in those counties said. (Hall, 8/17)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Immunocompromised Receive Additional Vaccine Doses, As Feds Mull COVID Boosters For All
An hour before Gloucester County opened its vaccination clinic offering third COVID-19 shots Tuesday, two masked men standing at a distance from each other in an empty parking lot marveled at people who don’t want to get vaccinated. “We don’t know what’s in a shot?” George Perry said, “We don’t know what’s in a hot dog either.” The Mullica Hill 72-year-old is so sold on vaccines, he turned up long before the clinic opened to get a third Pfizer shot, just authorized for people with severely suppressed immune systems. He arrived armed with the box that holds his leukemia medication, in case anybody questioned his eligibility. (Laughlin, 8/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: How Bay Area Counties Are Preparing To Roll Out COVID Booster Shots
The Bay Area could soon see the return of mass COVID-19 vaccination sites and high demand for additional doses with the expected recommendation that most fully vaccinated people get booster shots. Local officials call it a prudent next step in the evolving course of the pandemic. Bay Area health officials said Tuesday that they are ready to scale up to administer boosters, once the anticipated recommendation comes down from the Biden administration, as they scramble to protect people against the wildly infectious delta variant that is driving the fourth coronavirus surge. An announcement from Washington was expected as soon as this week. (Vaziri, 8/17)