COVID-19 booster shots could be coming for the elderly as soon as the fall, federal health officials said recently.
The director of the National Institutes of Health said Sunday that the U.S. could make a decision in the next 2-3 weeks about whether boosters are necessary this fall for the elderly.
This comes as health experts across the board plead with individuals who are unvaccinated to get their first shot.
Federal health officials say they are reviewing data on a daily basis to determine whether a booster shot for the elderly is warranted in the coming months.
They are also looking at the situation in other countries, where efficacy declined over time with the vaccines. Case numbers indicate here in the U.S. though still indicate strong protection against COVID-19. This is a good sign, health officials say, as they continue to march toward fall and winter.
“There is a concern that the vaccine may start to wane in its effectiveness,” Dr. Francis Collins said. “And delta is a nasty one for us to try to deal with. The combination of those two means we may need boosters, maybe beginning first with health care providers, as well as people in nursing homes, and then gradually moving forward.”
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].