Pfizer Seeking Approval For 3rd Round Vaccine Shot

Pfizer’s doctor, Mikael Dolsten, told the Associated Press that Pfizer plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an emergency use authorization of a third dose of their covid-19 vaccine in August. Dolsten said that a third shot within a year “could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant.” However, the CDC and FDA issued a joint statement saying, “Americans don’t need boosters yet and it was not up to companies alone to decide when they might be needed.”

The Associated Press reports that “research from multiple countries shows the Pfizer shot and other widely used covid-19 vaccines offer strong protection against the highly contagious delta variant.” They state that antibodies “naturally wane over time,” so booster shots may be necessary. Dolsten told the AP that research from Pfizer’s own booster study shows antibodies may increase 5 to 10-fold after a third dose. Dolsten also said data from Israel and Britain shows the Pfizer vaccine “neutralizes the delta variant very well.”

Vaccine expert Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University Medical Center stated that FDA authorization would “just be a first step” and that giving people a third dose would be “a huge effort while we are at the moment striving to get people the first dose.” A reported 48% of the United States is fully vaccinated against covid-19.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), stated that “highly immunized swaths of America are getting back to normal while hospitalizations are rising in other places.” She went on to say that in some places, the delta variant now accounts for over 50% of new covid cases and around 80% of new cases in the Midwest specifically.

Researchers from the Pasteur Institute in France reported that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines’ immune boost is four times as potent as natural immunity. Suggesting “covid-19 survivors get vaccinated rather than relying on natural immunity.”

Reports from Britain and Canada have shown the Pfizer vaccine to be 96% effective against hospitalization and 88% effective against “symptomatic infection.” In comparison, a study from Israel suggested the Pfizer vaccine to be just 64% effective against “mild delta infection.” The Associated Press goes on to say, “the best evidence suggests that if vaccinated people nonetheless get the coronavirus, they’ll have much milder cases.”

The upcoming request by Pfizer for authorization of a third vaccine dose comes shortly after the Biden administration missed its Fourth of July vaccination goal. This is despite a heavy push by governors, corporations, and celebrities that included incentives ranging from french fries to lottery tickets, catchy remixes, and college scholarships. President Biden himself has made a few peculiar efforts to get more people vaccinated, most recently saying his administration may send representatives door to door in targeted communities to speak to Americans about the vaccines.

 

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