People with full Covid-19 vaccination don't need booster for now, say US agencies - contrary to Pfizer’s stance

A third Pfizer dose can raise neutralising antibody levels by 5 to 10 fold compared with the original vaccine, says Pfizer. - AFP

WASHINGTON (The Straits Times/ANN): People in America who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus do not need booster shots at this time, US federal agencies said on Thursday (July 8), signalling a more conservative approach that diverged from vaccine developers Pfizer and BioNTech’s plans to develop and roll out vaccine boosters.

The joint statement by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came hours after Pfizer and BioNTech said data from Israel suggested that boosters will be needed six months or more from initial shots, due to the threat from coronavirus variants.