CBS News was told by Dr. Celine Gunder, senior fellow and editor at large for Public Health at Kaiser Health News that there are concerns about the effectiveness and cost of additional shots.
She stated that she was skeptical about whether giving everyone over 50 a fourth dose of the drug will have any long-term effect on severe illness, hospitalizations and death.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the sub-lineage from the Omicron variant is responsible for most new COVID-19 infection cases in the country.
FDA approved an optional second booster shot to be administered to immunocompromised patients aged 12 and over. It will be deciding whether the general public should be eligible next week.
“If it is recommended that the entire population needs a fourth shot at some point, we will need additional funding,” Kate Bedingfield, White House communications director, said.
Federal government already has insufficient funds to pay for treatment and testing of uninsured Americans. Next week, they will cease reimbursing those who are not covered for COVID-19 vaccines.
This begs the question: Where should we concentrate our limited resources? Are we focused on giving fourth doses, or on other measures like making sure that people are vaccinated who have not had one dose? Gounder asked.
After Republicans demanded that it be removed from a larger spending bill, Democrats want to pass additional COVID-19 funding. Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader, said that he hopes to reach an agreement soon. President Biden will likely push this.
