January 1, US likely to authorize COVID-19 booster shots

US health authorities are soon expected to recommend an extra dose of the COVID-19 vaccine eight months after Americans received their second shot, according to sources who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

The impending decision comes as the Delta variant is rapidly spreading through the population and preliminary evidence indicates that the vaccine’s effectiveness starts wearing off after eight months.

Experts are concerned that the need for booster shots may further discourage people already skeptical of the vaccine’s effectiveness.

“We have to really make sure that while we’re spending a lot of time and effort on third doses that we don’t undermine our campaign for first vaccinations,” said Lawrence Gostin, a public health specialist at Georgetown University. “That’s truly the existential crisis in the United States.”

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• More protection: US likely to authorize COVID booster shots