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Will Moderna miss Sept 20 target of US Covid booster jabs? Dr Fauci answers
President Joe Biden announced last month that his administration was preparing to inoculate boosters to provide better protection against coronavirus, pending approval from the CDC and the FDA.
Amid reports that complications could make the US government miss the September 20 date to start delivering Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, White House chief medical advisor Dr Anthony Fauci said that he believes the delivery can start for American citizens who were inoculated with Pfizer jabs, while those who were administered Moderna doses may need to wait for a couple more weeks.
Speaking at CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, the US government’s top infectious disease expert said that it is still the President Joe Biden administration’s plan “in some respects” to commence the third doses the week of September 20, pending approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The administration hoped to start rolling out both the Pfizer and Moderna booster shots from the stipulated date, but Dr Fauci stated that it’s “conceivable” that for Moderna’s jabs, there might be “at most a couple of weeks, a few weeks delay, if any” – while the firm gives additional data to the FDA on the booster’s efficacy.
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In a recent report by the Associated Press, one official said that Moderna produced inadequate data for the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to give a go-ahead to the third dose of its coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, the FDA’s request for additional data from Moderna can delay the delivery of its booster jabs to October.
Pfizer, however, is further along in the review process, with an FDA panel review on its booster jabs scheduled on September 17.
Notably, Biden announced last month that his administration was preparing to inoculate boosters to provide better protection against coronavirus, pending approval from the CDC and the FDA. He added that Americans should consider getting themselves jabbed eight months after their second shot.
On the matter of the delay in meeting the September 20 deadline, Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Kalin said on Sunday that no US citizen will get boosters “until the FDA says they’re approved,” adding that the administration will be ready to go once the “science says go.”
(With inputs from AP)
