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COVID Booster Shots ‘Not Appropriate’ Right Now, Scientists Say

The scientists said the COVID-19 vaccines still offer strong protection against severe disease.

COVID-19 booster shots aren’t yet needed to protect most people against the coronavirus, according to new research published in the peer-reviewed journal The Lancet. CNBC reports that a group of scientists, including two senior Federal Drug Administration officials and members of the World Health Organization, came to the conclusion while studying the efficacy of the authorized COVID vaccines against the rapidly spreading Delta variant. “Current evidence does not... appear to show a need for boosting in the general population, in which efficacy against severe disease remains high,” the scientists state. They add that boosters are “not appropriate at this stage in the pandemic.” “If unnecessary boosting causes significant adverse reactions, there could be implications for vaccine acceptance that go beyond COVID-19 vaccines,” they warned.

Some scientists and health officials have criticized President Biden’s plan to offer boosters eight months after people have taken their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, citing a lack of sufficient evidence. Scientists acknowledged that as the virus continues to spread and mutate, boosters may become necessary.