With the FDA expected to announce a recommendation of supplemental COVID-19 shots for all Americans to ensure lasting protection from the coronavirus, some experts are worried people may refuse to get the booster.
Dr. George Rutherford, director of prevention and public health group at UCSF, is among that group.
He joined KCBS Radio's "Ask an Expert" on Tuesday.
"I'd be concerned," he said. "I suspect that we will have a pretty big drop off. The people who are going to get the booster are people who have a lot of contact with patients like healthcare workers, people who are older and people who are immunosuppressed. We will get a very high uptick among them, but beyond that I'm not so sure."
The likely recommendation for a booster shot comes after data from Israel revealed efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine does wane overtime.
The supplemental shot will stop this antibody decline, but many Americans may not realize the importance, Rutherford added.
Vaccine hesitancy has been pervasive throughout the U.S. and a third shot may also fuel further skepticism, introducing questions of vaccine effectiveness. It remains unclear which booster shot Americans will be advised to get and if the recommendation will be based on the two-dose regimen they've already received – or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Despite concerns, Rutherford maintained a positive outlook as cases in the Bay Area are starting to fall. "This suggests we may be over the current (delta variant) hump," he said.
