An emergency authorization of a booster dose of Moderna’s and Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine was recommended by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel on Oct. 14 and 15.
If the FDA follows the panel’s recommendation and gives its approval to the booster shots, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will review the decision and issue guidance on whether boosters should be used.
Graham McKeen, IU Assistant Director of Public and Environmental Health, said the only booster that has been approved so far is for the Pfizer vaccine.
McKeen said people who are over age 65, have underlying medical conditions and are at a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to their occupation are eligible for the booster.
“Probably two-thirds of adult Americans are eligible based on either occupation or underlying health conditions,” he said.
McKeen said there is a difference between getting a booster shot and getting a third dose of a vaccine, even though the actual vaccine is the same. Booster shots are used when the effectiveness of the vaccine decreases over time. The third dose is for people who may not have had an immune response strong enough from the first two doses.
“We call that a third dose because it is not really boosting their immunity because maybe they did not have that much immunity to begin with,” McKeen said. “A booster would be increasing the antibodies that you have in your body from previous vaccines. It is giving you extra antibody protections.”
Immunocompromised people are eligible to receive a third dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine if they received the second dose at least 28 days ago, McKeen said.
People who are not immunocompromised can build a higher level of immunity in two-dose vaccine series and do not need a third dose. However, they may be eligible for a booster shot at least six months after receiving the initial two doses of the Pfizer vaccine to extend protection, McKeen said.
McKeen said people should ask their doctor if they believe they are eligible for a booster. If a person is vaccinated, he said they should not be too concerned about the chances of infection.
“For most people, if you’re fully vaccinated and you’re young and healthy, like most of our student population, you probably don’t need a booster at this time,” McKeen said. “As long as you’re vaccinated, you have done your part for population health.”
Lana Dbeibo, director of vaccine initiatives in the IU COVID-19 Medical Response Team, said the need for boosters does not mean vaccines don’t work. Vaccines are the best defense against the pandemic, Dbeibo said, but boosters can help increase protection if vaccines lose effectiveness over time.
Even with vaccines, there is evidence of reduced protection against COVID-19, especially among some people at higher risk for serious infection, IU Chief Health Officer Aaron Carroll said.
“Depending on how you define immunity, there is some evidence that there may be waning immunity in some populations who have received the Pfizer vaccine at the beginning of vaccination,'' Carroll said. “The FDA and CDC are now recommending that people get additional shots to boost their immunity if they fall into certain groups.”
Eligible students can schedule a booster shot on three of IU’s campuses, the same ones that offer Pfizer vaccines. IU Bloomington’s Student Health Center offers Moderna vaccines, McKeen said, but booster shots are not available yet.
Carroll said IU would consider opening up clinics to distribute booster shots like it has done for the first two doses of the Moderna vaccine and flu shots if the school determined it was necessary for students to get boosters.
“If all of a sudden it was really highly recommended that all of our students get a booster, that would probably be too much for the community to handle,” Carroll said. “We could envision doing it.”
