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As the omicron variant increases across the United States, health officials are urging Americans to get their Covid booster shots when they are eligible. However, during press briefings last week, America’s foremost infectious disease specialist Dr Anthony Fauci and World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus did not appear disagree on booster vaccination programs. during the fight against Covid.
“No country can get out of the pandemic,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at the December 22 briefing.
The WHO director-general has criticized the general COVID-19 booster programs that are being rolled out as other countries struggle to secure vaccine supplies. Ghebreyesus said in the briefing that only half of WHO member states have reached the goal of vaccinating 40% of their populations by the end of the year due to the uneven distribution of global supply.
The World Health Organization logo can be seen at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (AP Photo / Anja Niedringhaus, file)
Ghebreyesus said new variants of the virus could develop due to uneven access to vaccines, which could potentially prolong the pandemic.
“General booster programs are likely to prolong the pandemic, rather than end it, by diverting supplies to countries that already have high levels of immunization coverage, giving the virus more opportunities to spread and spread. mutate, “Ghebreyesus explained at the press conference.
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However, the WHO website recognizes the benefits of the COVID -19 booster.
The health agency said on its website that published data from several countries regarding the effectiveness of the vaccine from a booster dose demonstrated improved protection against infection; milder disease; as well as serious illness and death, although the organization noted that studies have limited follow-up time.
Dr.Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, December 1, 2021. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh, File)
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Meanwhile, as cases increase in the United States, CDC officials said last week in a White House briefing that the omicron variant accounts for 73% of positive cases in the United States. In the midst of this increase, the director of National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr Anthony Fauci, insisted on the need for booster vaccines in states.
“Why we emphasize the importance of booster injections – anti-Omicron activity is approximately 20 to 40 times higher in sera from boosted vaccines compared to the peak in people who received a two-dose vaccine,” Fauci said during last week’s briefing. .
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Fauci also said that clinical data shows that the vaccine’s effectiveness against asymptomatic infection from a two-dose mRNA vaccine declines over time. Fauci explained during the briefing that despite this decreasing effect of the two doses, “there is moderate to high efficacy – around 75 percent – seen early in the period after a booster dose – and most likely higher in the event of a booster dose. ‘hospitalization and severe illness. ”
Fauci reiterated what CDC officials said at the briefing, that prevention is a “comprehensive, multi-level process, characterized by vaccination.”
Dr Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor of the White House and Director of NIAID and Dr Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arrive to participate in the regular call of the COVID-19 response team of the White House with the National Governors Association in the South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Monday, December 27, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster)
Dr Aaron E. Glatt, infectious disease specialist and spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, told Fox News “Obviously, the boosters are extremely effective in preventing serious illness and death in patients 6 months after receiving their second dose of mRNA vaccine. It will save lives and prevent hospitalizations and intensive care stays.
Glatt, who is also the chief infectious disease epidemiologist and hospital at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York City, also told Fox News: “At the same time, the primary immunization of all unvaccinated people remains. also a top priority. Both are crucial, and efforts to increase the availability of vaccines for all are essential. ”
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According to the WHO, around 20% of COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide are used daily for a booster or additional dose. To see if you are eligible for a booster vaccine, you can visit the CDC’s website.
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