WASHINGTON DC, August 11, 2021 ~ Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to amend emergency use authorizations this week for COVID-19 booster shots for immunocompromised people.
This shot would be a third shot for those who have already received the first two doses of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and are affected by immunocompromise. Those with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will not be allowed extra doses at this time.
“We know that immunocompromised patients, particularly transplant patients, but definitely other forms of immunocompromise, don’t respond as well to the vaccine,” Beaumont Health Director of Infectious Disease Research Dr. Matthew Sims told 760 WJR’s Kevin Dietz. “And there is some thought that they may wane faster than people who don’t have immunocompromise, so that their protection is lower. There have been studies, where they give a third dose of the vaccine to those patients, and in a lot of those patients, it helps a lot.”
August 12, 2021 ~ Beaumont Health Director of Infectious Disease Research Dr. Matthew Sims tells Kevin Dietz why the FDA plans to authorize COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for immunocompromised people.
“It’s not perfect, it doesn’t help everybody, there are still people who just don’t respond very well,” Dr. Sims continued. “But in the ones that it helps, you get a significant boost to the antibody level, which should translate to a significant boost to your protection.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory group is meeting Friday, to discuss whether or not immunocompromised people should need an additional shot. An official vote only takes place after the FDA takes regulatory action, such as when amendments to emergency use authorization is made.
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