San Francisco has cleared the way for all adults to receive booster shots of all three federally approved COVID-19 vaccines, while the World Health Organization and its top officials continue to criticize richer nations for their booster programs.
Dr. Grant Colfax, the city’s director of public health, announced on Friday afternoon that all adults who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are now eligible for booster shots. Hours earlier, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said global vaccination disparities, exacerbated by the rollout of booster shots, are "a scandal."
Colfax said the Department of Public Health decided to expand eligibility ahead of the winter, during which officials fear a surge in COVID-19 infections. California public health officials on Thursday encouraged all adults to receive a booster shot before the winter months, even though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to only recommend boosters for older adults, as well as others at high risk of infection and hospitalization.
Moderna and Pfizer recipients are eligible to receive a booster starting six months after their second dose, while Johnson & Johnson recipients can get one as soon as two months after being vaccinated.
"We are already seeing an uptick in cases, and that could mean hospitalization for some vulnerable people, even if they are fully vaccinated," Colfax said of San Francisco, which had vaccinated 75.5% of its population as of Friday, according to federal data. "We have been stressing that boosters are essential for higher risk individuals, but now it’s become apparent that we need many more people to receive a booster dose so that we can protect ourselves, our families and friends, and our community."
California has a larger economy than all but a handful of countries, and a bigger population than all but three dozen or so. Just shy of two-thirds of the state’s eligible population, age 5 and older, was fully vaccinated as of Thursday, according to state data.
Tedros, the top WHO official, said in a press conference Friday that six times as many booster doses are being administered globally as first and second doses in low-income countries. Of the 92 countries to institute a booster program, the organization told the New York Times that none are considered low-income.
"This is a scandal that must stop now," Tedros, who previously called for a moratorium on booster shots, said on Friday.
Although over half of the world (51.5%) had received a COVID-19 vaccine dose through Thursday, just 4.5% of people in lower-income countries had, according to Our World In Data.
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