January 1, America Braces For Potential 4th COVID Shot

American health officials, experts, and vaccine manufacturers are already preparing for a potential fourth COVID-19 booster shot to bolster protection against whatever variant may come next.

“The potential future requirement for an additional boost or a fourth shot for mRNA or a third shot for J&J is being very carefully monitored in real time. And recommendations, if needed, will be updated according to the data as it evolves,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Anthony Fauci said.

A senior Biden administration official told Axios that the federal government plans to test new vaccines that combine multiple strains of the virus to find what offers the broadest coverage.

The U.K. recently decided it will soon offer a fourth shot to the elderly and some people with health conditions. Meanwhile, Israel has already offered fourth shots and has started releasing preliminary data on their effect.

But experts say the need for another booster will depend on how much the virus continues to circulate.

“It may not be as big an issue in the U.S. if we’re really at a contained state,” said Scripps Research Executive Vice President Eric Topol.

But, Topol cautioned, we got lucky that a third shot of the original vaccine works so well against the Omicron variant — and there’s no guarantee that luck will hold against another.

“We have to run not just on luck. This is not a casino here,” Topol said. “We have to do better.”

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America prepares for a potential 4th COVID shot