PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Drugmaker Pfizer says it will be meeting with top U.S. health officials on Monday to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot it has been developing. The company, which has offices in Montgomery County and New Jersey, is seeking emergency use authorization for the shot.
In a joint statement last week, the CDC and FDA said they wouldn't recommend fully vaccinated Americans get a booster shot at this time, but "we are prepared for booster doses if and when the science demonstrates that they are needed."
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser, echoed on Sunday that the need for a booster in the near future "is entirely conceivable, maybe likely," and the work is taking place now to prepare.
"It isn't as if we're gonna start from square one — if it looks like there are breakthrough infections or if it looks like the laboratory data indicate that there's a diminution in immunity — by no means," Fauci said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Right now, we are preparing full throttle for doing boosters if we need them."
Pfizer, last week, said studies of its booster shot have led to promising preliminary results and that the current data suggests that it would be needed 6 to 12 months after full vaccination. Health officials raise the possibility that they would offer a targeted recommendation.
Indeed, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gotleib, who is on Pfizer's board, expects that the booster will be recommended for those who are older or have underlying health issues, if it is given a green light.
"It's not gonna be a general recommendation for the entire public, because for most people, most people who are younger, who have intact immune systems, they're probably going to have sufficient protection from their original vaccination," Gotleib said.
Pfizer says the booster dose would be highly effective against the Delta variant, which is now the dominant strain of the coronavirus in the United States. According to U.S. health officials, the strain accounts for about a quarter of new COVID-19 cases.
In the meantime, the push continues to get more people vaccinated in the United States. Federal health officials say nearly all COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are among those who are unvaccinated.
Last week, the CDC reported three consecutive days, July 7 through July 9, when there were more than 20,000 new cases. That brought the seven-day average on Friday to 17,736. This is compared to the low of 11,446 on June 20.
"We have more vaccines in this country than we know what to do with," Fauci said. "Everybody and anybody can get vaccinated [in the U.S.] and we have people throughout the world who would do anything to get vaccinated because they appreciate the importance of safeguarding their health."
