Fauci: COVID-19 may need annual booster shot

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WASHINGTON, Sept 6: Anthony Fauci, Biden Covid adviser who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, anticipated Tuesday that Covid-19 vaccines will likely be given yearly to protect people from the new strains. “It is becoming increasingly clear that, looking forward with the COVID-19 pandemic, in the absence of a dramatically different variant, we likely are moving towards a path with a vaccination cadence similar to that of the annual influenza vaccine, with annual, updated COVID-19 shots matched to the currently circulating strains for most of the population,” Fauci said in a virtual news conference of the White House team tasked with coordinating efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. He, moreover, noted that some — particularly vulnerable groups — may continue to need more frequent vaccination against COVID-19.

For his part, Ashish Jha, the White House Covid response coordinator, urged citizens to take the booster dose of the vaccine. He added in the conference that the new dose would provide a better protection against the infection. “By the way, let me be very clear — achieving this was no small feat, but what it means is this: It is reasonable to expect, based on what we know about immunology and science of this virus, that these new vaccines will provide better protection against infection, better protection against transmission, and ongoing and better protection against serious illness,” he stated. He advised those aged 12 and above to take Pfizer and BioNTech booster dose, while those aged 18 and above to receive Moderna booster dosage. (KUNA)

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