Many vaccine experts are not convinced fourth doses are needed so soon. Some are even skeptical fourth doses will be needed at all.
to authorize yet another booster dose -- especially for elderly Americans, a group that tends to have weaker immune protection.
"There are very few, if any, people who, in my opinion require a fourth dose," said Dr. Anna Durbin, professor of international health and director of the center for immunization research at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Although the existing COVID-19 vaccines are overwhelmingly safe, they do come with temporary side effects and the rare risk of temporary heart inflammation called myocarditis among young men.
When the vaccines were first launched in December 2020, emphasis was placed on their ability to protect against COVID-19 infection. But now, with the passage of time and emergence of new variants, many vaccine experts argue this was always an impossibly high standard to maintain, and moving forward, the emphasis should be on their ability to protect against severe disease.
"We can't have vaccines every five, six months," said Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, speaking on CNBC. But until they have new-and-improved boosters ready to go, Pfizer and Moderna executives argue fourth doses will be needed by at least some older Americans soon.
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