Immunocompromised patients may soon be eligible for booster dose
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients who are immunocompromised may soon be eligible to receive a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.
The FDA is expected to announce soon that it is authorizing a third dose of vaccine for patients who have undergone solid organ transplantation or are otherwise immunocompromised, The New York Times reported.
CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, said Thursday that Pfizer and Moderna were working with the FDA to allow booster doses for these patients, and that the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices would meet Friday to discuss related recommendations.
“To be clear, this is a very small population,” Walensky said. “We estimate it to be less than 3% of adults. We've been working to identify how best to provide an increased protection to these vulnerable people who are disproportionately impacted by severe outcomes due to COVID-19.”
Walensky said the additional dose could help increase protection, which is “especially important” as the delta variant continues to spread. Research has shown that immunocompromised patients do not respond optimally to COVID-19 vaccination and could benefit from a booster dose. The results of the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial of a vaccine booster dose in transplant recipients were published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine and showed that an added dose enhanced protection.
“We look forward to [the ACIP’s] discussion and to help and support this vulnerable population,” Walensky said. “At this time, only certain immune compromised individuals may need an additional dose.”
References:
Kumar D, et al. N Engl J Med. 2021;doi:10.1056/NEJMc2111462.
LaFraniere S, Weiland N. FDA to authorize third vaccine dose for people with weak immune systems. New York Times. August 11, 2021. Accessed August 12, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/11/us/politics/third-vaccine-dose-approval.html.
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts