SCIENTISTS QUESTION EVIDENCE BEHIND BOOSTER DRIVE

The Biden administration’s plan to provide COVID-19 vaccine boosters is based on concerns that a decrease in the vaccines’ ability to protect against milder infections could also mean people will have less protection against severe illness, a premise that has yet to be proven, scientists said.

US officials, citing data showing waning protection against mild and moderate illness from the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines more than six months after inoculation, said boosters will be made available starting Sept. 20 to people who received their initial inoculation at least eight months earlier.

Most vulnerable

Data on so-called “breakthrough” infections in vaccinated people shows that older Americans have so far been the most vulnerable to severe illness.

“We don’t know if that translates into a problem with the vaccine doing what is most important, which is protect against hospitalization, death, and serious disease,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman, an infectious disease expert at Georgetown University in Washington.

Some experts questioned the focus on booster shots when around 30 percent of eligible Americans have yet to get even a first vaccine dose, despite new COVID-19 cases and deaths surging across the country.

“The more important thing at this point than boosters is making sure we get the vaccine in any arm that hasn’t had one as fast as we can,” said Dr. Dan McQuillen, an infectious disease specialist.

“You should be vaccinating the rest of the world to avoid new variants,” said Dr. Isaac Weisfuse, of Cornell University Public Health.