Americans May Need To Boost Up Their COVID-19 Immunity With A Fourth Dose

A health worker administers a Covid-19 booster jab to a...

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With the threat of a new highly transmissible COVID-19 variant looming, the CEO of Pfizer announced this week that Americans would need the protection of a fourth vaccine dose to boost up their immunity against the virus.

“Right now, the protection that you’re getting from the third [shot], it is good enough — actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths,” CEO Albert Bourla reassured viewers during an interview on CBS’s Face The Nation. However, the Pfizer health official stressed that the three doses weren’t enough to “fight against infection,” because the protection “doesn’t last long.” Previous studies have shown that the effectiveness of the vaccine begins to wane off after six months which could leave some individuals susceptible to becoming infected with COVID-19.

Bourla noted that new variants like the “Stealth Omicron” variant, have mutated to partially evade “the immune protection” that vaccines provide, making it even more of a challenge to create a vaccine that will protect the immune system.

Pfizer hopes to create a method “that can protect for at least a year,” Bourla added during his Mar. 13 appearance on CBS. Back in January, the company announced that they were trying to develop an Omicron-specific vaccine that would help to provide greater protection against the strain.

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Americans could certainly use it given the impending threat of the Omicron B.2 Variant, which has also been dubbed the “Stealth Omicron” Variant. The highly transmissible strain has currently forced millions of people in China, back into lockdown.

According to NPR, Chinese authorities reported nearly 1,337 locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 across dozens of mainland cities this week. A cluster of new cases was discovered in Jilin with 895 people becoming infected with the contagious strain. The country’s tech hub, Shenzhen, reported 75 new cases as the city doubled down on mass testing. While the numbers are relatively low, this is the highest number of COVID-19 cases reported in the country since the outbreak occurred in Wuhan in 2020.

Researchers and health experts on American soil aren’t quite concerned about the variant yet because the vaccine still provides protection against severe hospitalization or illness from the new strain. Studies also show that Omicron appears to be “intrinsically less severe” than other variants, causing less damage in the lungs, the New York Times reported. However, it’s important to remain vigilant and continue to follow COVID-19 protocols. Breakthrough cases of COVID-19 in people who are vaccinated could still lead to harsh symptoms for those who become infected, and the virus is still transmissible, leaving those who aren’t vaccinated at risk. Currently, children under the age of 5 remain ineligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

While youngsters between the ages of five and 11 are eligible for two pediatric doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, a booster shot has not been developed for the age group yet. Bourla said that the company is currently testing the effectiveness of a third dose on the age group now and they hope to have a booster shot developed by April.