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According to a former FDA director, there isn’t enough evidence to prove that booster shots for Covid vaccinations are necessary right now. “Being prepared to make boosters is a good thing,” Norman Baylor, who previously worked for the US Food and Drug Administration’s office of vaccines research and review, said. “But we really don’t have… evidence, at least in the United States, where we’re seeing vaccine failures or waning in immunity, such that it’s time to deploy a booster.” Pfizer is working on a third dose of Covid to target the highly transmissible delta form, which has become the dominant strain in several nations, including the United States. “Americans who have been completely vaccinated won’t require a booster dose at this time,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said in a joint statement last week. On Monday, Pfizer met with US regulators to present its case for a third shot. The company collaborated with BioNTech of Germany to produce a vaccination that is administered in two doses three weeks apart. The World Health Organization granted it emergency use authorization in December. There have been no noteworthy vaccination failures. Pfizer and BioNTech cited evidence from Israel’s health ministry indicating that their vaccine was less efficient in avoiding infection and symptomatic disease. The spread of the delta variant and the discontinuation of most Covid measures in Israel coincided with the fall in efficacy. According to the ministry, the shot is still 93 percent effective in reducing hospitalizations and serious illness from Covid-19. Vaccine failure rates are now very low for the vaccinations that have been delivered. So, until that changes, I don’t think it’s a good idea to use a booster dose. CEO of Baylor Biologics Consulting Norman Baylor However, Baylor, who is also the president and CEO of Biologics Consulting, claims that diligent monitoring has so far revealed no “major vaccine failures.” “We’re just not seeing that now,” he said on Thursday on “Street Signs Asia.” Covid cases are on the rise in the United States once again, but doctors claim the increase is due to the delta strain spreading in unvaccinated communities. “Vaccine failure rates are now very low for the vaccinations that have been deployed. So, until that changes, I don’t think it’s a good idea to use a booster dose “Baylor remarked. Westbury, New York: On April 29, 2021, a man receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Long Island federally certified health center in Westbury, New York. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images/Steve Pfost/Newsday) Getty Images/Steve Pfost/Newsday According to him, health officials appear to concur that a third dose is unnecessary. “We’re just not there yet… we don’t have the data that it’s time for a booster,” he added, noting that new variations might make current vaccines useless or significantly less effective in the future. Inequality in vaccinations Richer countries have been able to vaccinate a considerable portion of their population, but poorer countries have fallen behind. Baylor believes that the issue of immunization inequality between regions must be addressed. “The definition of a pandemic is that it is worldwide,” he said, adding that he agrees with the World Health Organization that the situation requires a global approach. Some countries and regions are ordering millions of booster doses before other countries have received enough vaccine to vaccinate their health staff and most vulnerable citizens. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the Globe Health Organization (WHO), warned on Monday that the world is “in the midst of a rising two-track pandemic.” “Some nations and areas are really ordering millions of booster doses before other countries have had supplies to vaccinate their health professionals and most vulnerable,” he said at a press conference, adding that the globe is making “conscious choices” not to protect the most vulnerable. According to the data, the vaccines provide long-lasting immunity against the severe and lethal Covid-19 virus. “The focus now must be to vaccinate individuals who have not got any doses or protection,” WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said. He noted that biotech businesses such as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which produced another mRNA vaccine for Covid-19, must “go all out” to get supplies to those in need, including through the Covax vaccine distribution partnership./nRead More

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