COVID-19 booster shots are ready!
The US president Joe Biden announced that his administration is all set to provide COVID-19 vaccine shots for all Americans starting from 20 September as the Delta variant causes more infections. The United States is ready to provide a third shot to Americans who have had two vaccine doses. The Department of Health and Human Services stated that Americans were vaccinated eight months ago. They received the vaccines from Moderna Inc, Pfizer Inc, and BioNTech AG. The president said that getting booster shots is the best way to protect people from the new variants. This booster will make people safer for a longer period. The US government is set to provide more than 100 million vaccine booster shots for free at about 80,000 locations across the country.
The United States is Ready to Get booster shots
The President requested that anyone 18 or older who received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine are eligible to receive booster shots eight months after their second dose. He also declared that he directed the health department to create regulations to make coronavirus vaccinations compulsory for their employees to get Medicare or Medical funding. Joe Biden explained that over 130,000 residents of nursing homes have died of Coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic. Biden said that he has been using the federal government’s power for health care costs to decrease the risks to seniors who are more vulnerable to the virus. Biden also criticized Republican governors who are planning to ban mask mandates in classrooms, including in Texas and Florida, where Delta infections are higher than any other state in the country. They should understand children are ineligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. They are at higher risk, Biden said to the governors. He urged the children to keep safe.
The President asked his education secretary Miguel Cardona to use his oversight power, including legal action if needed, against governors who break the rules on masking policies. Over a million Americans were looking for an extra vaccine dose before the government decision on boosters was declared, stated the federal data. The United States previously authorized the third dose of BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for weak immune systems.
Why Do Vaccinated People Need Boosters?
The US decided to provide booster shots to increase the protection against COVID-19 as the infection is increasing. The CDC’s director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said that vaccine effectiveness against the Coronavirus might increase over time. The evidence from the New York state health department, the Mayo Clinic, and the CDC’s reporting system for nursing homes in recent studies collected data on breakthrough infections. The U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said a highly effective vaccine could also be less effective over time. Importantly, there is no study to prove that the death and severe COVID-19 disease hospitalization are increasing among vaccinated people. However, Walensky stated that an Israel-based study shows that people vaccinated earlier are at increased risk of severe diseases. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser, also presented new evidence which proves that third shots of mRNA vaccines provide increased antibodies against COVID-19 viruses.
