The US is experiencing an unusual number of coronavirus breakthrough cases which has prompted the CDC to announce it’s time for COVID booster shots. Here’s why.
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Thanks to a ton of Americans in states like Florida, Texas, and Missouri who simply refuse to get vaccinated, the US is nowhere near herd immunity. This means that COVID is continuing to run rampant throughout the country while mutating and reinventing itself (as viruses do) to beat the vaccines designed to eradicate it. Now, despite being fully vaccinated, Americans are waking up to breakthrough coronavirus symptoms and discovering after testing that they’ve contracted COVID anyway.
In light of this news and in light of the fact that previously vaccinated Americans are now walking carriers of the coronavirus (and highly contagious), the CDC recommended over the weekend a new round of COVID booster shots in the hopes of preventing another shutdown.
The COVID booster shots are now authorized for those who have undergone organ transplants or are immuno-compromised, including those with HIV, cancer, and other ailments. However, with free vaccines being offered across the country to anyone who wants it, some previously vaccinated Americans are already opting to get a 3rd shot on their own without authorization from anyone.
“We’re trying to understand if there’s a decrease in protection that’s manifesting as a significant increase in breakthrough infections, particularly breakthrough hospitalizations and deaths,” US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday.
He also said the administration is looking at data from pharmaceutical companies, private health care systems, and other countries, including the UK, Israel, and Canada to determine the best way forward in preventing an out-of-control national outbreak that would inevitably lead to another shutdown.
“We look at that data very regularly, closely. When we see the threshold met, that’s when we’ll recommend boosters for additional people,” Murthy continued. “That’s an if question. It’s a when question. And the data is going to drive our decision on that.”
Dr. Murthy added that President Biden intends to lay out a COVID vaccine booster strategy for the nation in September.
With the Delta, Delta PLUS, and Lambda variants racing through communities across the country, the takeaway here is not a question of IF Americans will be asked to get COVID booster shots, but WHEN that will happen.
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“We think this is just the beginning. Therefore, we’re committed as a company to make as many updates to the vaccine, to add as many variants as we think are necessary, to ensure that when people receive a booster, it provides the broadest immune protection against the widest range of variants.” – Dr. Stephen Hoge, president of Moderna
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With breakthrough coronavirus cases going wild from coast to coast and cities such as New York and San Francisco now requiring proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters, and other establishments, it’s clear that we’ve taken a huge step backward instead of forward in the fight against COVID.
So, prepare yourselves for the inevitable. We could very soon see ourselves turned back to 2020.
New York Times: With a stockpile of at least 100 million doses at the ready, Biden administration officials are developing a plan to start offering coronavirus booster shots to some Americans as early as this fall even as researchers continue to hotly debate whether extra shots are needed, according to people familiar with the effort. The first boosters are likely to go to nursing home residents and health care workers, followed by other older people who were near the front of the line when vaccinations began late last year. Officials envision giving people the same vaccine they originally received. They have discussed starting the effort in October but have not settled on a timetable. While many outside experts argue there is no proof yet that the vaccines’ protection against severe disease and hospitalization is waning in the United States, administration officials say they cannot afford to put off figuring out… Read more »