Health officials are preparing to roll out COVID-19 booster shots in the United States this September. According to a plan announced Aug. 18, all U.S. adults who received a two-dose vaccine would be eligible for an additional jab of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine eight months from when they got their second one.
For now, anyone who has completed the two-dose mRNA vaccine course is considered fully vaccinated with "a high degree of protection against the worst outcomes of COVID-19," Murthy said.
The rationale for laying the groundwork for boosters in the months ahead is to avert potential COVID-19 deaths in the future if vaccine-induced protection against serious illness wanes.
"We are concerned that the current strong protection against severe infection, hospitalization and death could decrease in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or who were vaccinated earlier," Walensky said. Booster shots, she said, would "maximize vaccine induced protection."
So, anyone who is fully vaccinated is still very well protected from getting seriously ill from COVID-19. So it doesn't mean that we're no long safer after just two doses. Health officials were emphatic on this point.
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