US health officials call for virus booster shots
August 18, 2021 12:00 am
• Last Updated: August 18, 2021 4:05 pm
FILE - In this June 11, 2021, file photo, a healthcare worker administrates a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to a student during a vaccination clinic hosted by Jewel Osco in Wheeling, Ill. U.S. health officials Wednesday, Aug. 18, recommended all Americans get COVID-19 booster shots to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and evidence that the vaccines' effectiveness is falling. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
U.S. health officials are recommending all Americans get COVID-19 booster shots.
The plan, as outlined by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top health authorities, calls for booster doses eight months after people get their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
The booster doses could begin the week of Sept. 20.
Health officials say people who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine also probably need extra shots because some effectiveness of vaccines wanes over time. But they say they’re awaiting more data and have yet to work out the details.
The overall plan awaits a Food and Drug Administration evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of a third dose, the officials say.
Stillman Middle School students climb stairs to class on campus during their first day back to school Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Brownsville, Texas. Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) welcomed back all students to in-person classes since the COVID-19 pandemic caused school districts to turn to virtual learning during the start of the 2020-2021 school year. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald via AP)
Nurse practitioners Taryn McCoy, left, and Gina LaFountain take inventory of supplies in the intensive care ward, one of four wards that are part of the 32-bed Samaritan's Purse Emergency Field Hospital set up in one of the University of Mississippi Medical Center's parking garages, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. The field hospital joins a 20-bed field hospital and monoclonal antibody clinic opened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at UMMC in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Australian Defense Force personnel assist the public at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Sydney, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Australia's most populous state reported a record 633 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday as concerns grew about the delta variant's spread beyond Sydney. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)
Pope Francis delivers his blessing as he recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. The pontiff said he shares "the unanimous concern for the situation in Afghanistan'' and expressed his closeness to the people of Haiti following Saturday's 7.2-magnitude quake. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gives a COVID-19 response update at Parliament, Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Ardern announced people will be compelled to wear masks in supermarkets, gas stations and pharmacies during strict lockdowns. That came after the government on Tuesday imposed a strict lockdown of at least three days for the entire country and at least seven days in Auckland and Coromandel after identifying the first infection. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)
People wearing face masks to protect against COVID-19 walk past an advertising billboard at a pedestrian shopping street in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Beijing's top official is reiterating the need for strict anti-coronavirus measures at next year's Winter Olympics, now less than 200 days away, although it remains unclear whether spectators will be permitted. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A medical worker in a booth takes a nasal sample from a woman during coronavirus testing at a makeshift testing site in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People wait in line to get vaccinated at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Sydney, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Australia's most populous state reported a record 633 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday as concerns grew about the delta variant's spread beyond Sydney. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)
FILE - In this May 28, 2020, file photo, a passenger wears personal protective equipment on a Delta Airlines flight after landing at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport in Minneapolis. Federal officials are extending into January a requirement that people on airline flights and public transportation wear face masks to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Transportation Security Administration's current order was scheduled to expire Sept. 13. An agency spokesman said Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, that the mandate will be extended until Jan. 18. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
FILE - In this April 15, 2021, file photo, Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey speaks during a bill signing in Phoenix. Ducey on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, upped the pressure on the growing number of public school districts defying a state ban on face mask mandates as they try to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Ducey created a $163 million school grant program using federal virus relief funds he controls, but schools that have mask mandates or have to close because of COVID-19 outbreaks won't be eligible for the additional $1,800 per student. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Roger West, columnist of the Westside Journal in northeast Florida outside the entrance to the newspaper office Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Callahan, Fla. Outspoken as he had been in opposing COVID-19 vaccines he reconsidered after the virus returned with a deadly vengeance in mid-July. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
People wearing face masks to protect against COVID-19 walk past a display showing a countdown clock to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Beijing's top official is reiterating the need for strict anti-coronavirus measures at next year's Winter Olympics, now less than 200 days away, although it remains unclear whether spectators will be permitted. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Australians are checked by a security during their departure at Ngurah Rai International airport, Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. Hundreds of Australian citizens left Bali on Wednesday aboard special repatriation flights organized by the Australian government. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
The Samaritan's Purse's logo stands out as staff roll a portable bed to one of four wards that are part of the 32-bed Samaritan's Purse Emergency Field Hospital set up in one of the University of Mississippi Medical Center's parking garages, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, on the Jackson, Miss., campus. The field hospital, an outreach program that is part of a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization, joins a 20-bed field hospital and monoclonal antibody clinic opened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at UMMC in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, speaks about the placement of the 32-bed Samaritan's Purse Emergency Field Hospital in one of the University of Mississippi Medical Center's parking garages, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, on the Jackson, Miss., campus. The field hospital joins a 20-bed field hospital and monoclonal antibody clinic opened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at UMMC in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Ventilators sit beside each of the five intensive care beds that are part of the 32-bed Samaritan's Purse Emergency Field Hospital set up in one of the University of Mississippi Medical Center's parking garages, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. The field hospital joins a 20-bed field hospital and monoclonal antibody clinic opened by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at UMMC in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
Wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, elementary school students line up to enter school for the first day of classes in Richardson, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Despite Texas Gov Greg Abbott's executive order banning mask mandates by local officials, the Richardson Independent School District and many others across the state are requiring masks for students. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Russell Rakestraw II hugs his son fourth grader Russell Rakestraw III in front of his elementary school while dropping off on the first day of classes in Richardson, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. Despite Texas Gov Greg Abbott's executive order banning mask mandates by local officials, the Richardson Independent School District and many others across the state are requiring masks for students. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Students and parents gather outside the Governor's Mansion to urge Gov. Greg Abbott to drop his opposition to public school mask mandates, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in Austin, Texas. The Texas Supreme Court has blocked mask mandates ordered by two of the nation’s largest counties that defied Republican Gov. Greg Abbott as COVID-19 cases surge. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - In this July 22, 2021, file photo, health care worker fills a syringe with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. U.S. health officials Wednesday, Aug. 18, recommended all Americans get COVID-19 booster shots to shore up their protection amid the surging delta variant and evidence that the vaccines' effectiveness is falling. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
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