The Biden administration and health officials are considering recommending booster shots as early as five months post full vaccination after data from Israel was released, officials said yesterday.
President Joe Biden, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at the White House yesterday, said health officials are considering following Israel's lead on booster shots.
Officials are debating whether COVID-19 booster shots should be administered as soon as five months post full vaccination.
In conversation with Bennett, the President said: 'We're considering the advice you've given that we should start earlier.'
Booster shots could be in the arms of Americans as early as September 20.
President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett yesterday to discuss the recent COVID-19 study Israel released
Booster shots are expected to be approved in the US after Labor Day to allow federal health officials to review the data provided by other countries.
Other countries, like the Dominican Republic, Hungary, and Germany, have already begun or are about to begin administrating boosters to their citizens.
On Wednesday, Pfizer announced that in an unreleased study, its booster shot provides a threefold increase of neutralizing antibodies.
The side effects are the same as those experienced from the second dose, which includes headaches, tiredness, mild pain at the injection site, and a fever.
The company is racing to get FDA approval for its third shot, according to Reuters, to distribute it soon.
Hospitalizations have reached more than 100,000 this week, the second time this has happened since the start of the pandemic
The Israeli study analyzed 2.5 million Israelis from June 1 to August 14 while the Delta variant was dominating the country. The study, published on August 19, found that those who were vaccinated in January or February were six to 13 times more likely to get infected than unvaccinated people who already had COVID-19 in June, July, and August.
Those who were vaccinated during that time also have a higher risk of being hospitalized.
The study did not report any deaths.
The study comes just as COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US approach a peak since the Delta variant was first found in the country.
The Wall Street Journal reported COVID-19 hospitalizations have reached more than 100,000 this week, which is only the second time since the start of the pandemic.
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