Samuel Case, FISM News
In the wake of a recent Mayo Clinic study which suggests that the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine candidates are less effective at preventing the Delta variant than originally believed, the Biden administration is reportedly preparing to administer booster shots for the fully vaccinated.
FISM News reported: “A new study from the Mayo Clinic has confirmed a study from Israel that indicated that the Pfizer vaccine is significantly less effective at preventing contraction of the Delta variant of COVID-19 then previous variants. While the original Israeli study found that Pfizer’s vaccine was only mildly less effective, the Mayo Clinic study found that the Pfizer vaccine effectiveness rate dropped to a stark 42% in Minnesota and settled at an average effectiveness rate of 76% across the country. In addition, the Mayo Clinic confirmed suspicions that the Moderna vaccine is also less effective than advertised with an average effectiveness rate of 86%.”
The third shot of Pfizer and Moderna will be available for citizens 12 and up after the candidates receive full approval from the FDA. A second dose of the Johnson & Johnson candidate, which was original given emergency authorization for a single dose, is believed to be recommended as well. The Biden administration hopes to begin administering the booster by mid or late September if given the the green light by the FDA, according the Associated Press.
This comes as the CDC last Friday authorized booster shots for the immunocompromised. CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, described the emergency boosters as, “an important step in ensuring everyone, including those most vulnerable to COVID-19, can get as much protection as possible from COVID-19 vaccination.”
The news was first broke by the New York Times, who described the administrations call for another shot as response to “the Delta variant that is causing surging caseloads across the nation.”
Despite the federal government’s concern over the spike in caseloads, data indicates severe “breakthrough infections” remain rare. Earlier this month FISM News reported that “according to the CDC out of 163 million vaccinated Americans, 6,239 were hospitalized, or about .0038% of the vaccinated population. Among that group, 1,263 died, amounting to .0008% of the vaccinated population.”