Fauci: Booster to be recommended for people with weakened immune systems
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on Tuesday, July 20, 2021.[Stefani Reynolds / The New York Times via AP, Pool]
WASHINGTON – Dr. Anthony Fauci says an additional COVID-19 booster shot will be recommended for previously vaccinated people with weakened immune systems.
He told NBC’s "Today" show on Thursday that he expects the booster recommendation to come "imminently."
People have compromised immune systems for a variety of reasons, including organ transplants, cancer or other conditions. Any authorization for an additional booster shot would come from the Federal Drug Administration.
Fauci says for other vaccinated groups, such as the elderly, data is being collected to determine if or when their protection goes "below a critical level" and "that’s when you’re going to be hearing about the implementation of boosters" for others.
The nation’s top infectious disease expert says "at this moment, other than the immune compromised, we’re not going to be giving boosters."
Fauci says "inevitably there will be a time when we’ll have to get boosts" because "no vaccine, at least not within this category, is going to have an indefinite amount of protection."