Biden Administration May Have Jumped The Gun On Booster Shot Rollout

Monday a group of international scientists said that available evidence does not yet indicate a need for COVID-19 vaccine booster shots among the general population. Two senior FDA officials are reportedly stepping down from their posts over a disagreement with the White House on the administration of booster shots.

Marion Gruber, director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, and her deputy director, Phil Krause, who are set to leave in October and November, along with other worldwide experts published a viewpoint in The Lancet, arguing that the COVID-19 vaccines remain effective in preventing severe disease, including against the highly contagious delta variant.

“Careful and public scrutiny of the evolving data will be needed to assure that decisions about boosting are informed by reliable science more than politics,” the authors wrote, adding, “Widespread boosting should be undertaken only if there is clear evidence that it is appropriate.”

Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, warned the White House that more time is needed to review data before approving a COVID-19 booster plan. Data from the FDA and CDC at this point suggest that some individuals who received the Pfizer vaccine should get a booster shot.

Last month, the nation’s top health officials announced the U.S. was prepared to begin offering booster shots to Americans beginning Sept. 20, pending FDA review.

That statement was attributed to Walensky, Woodcock, U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, President Biden’s chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci and others, said that available data indicated protection begins to decrease over time, and “could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout.”

Gruber, Krause, and other authors warned about drawing conclusions about vaccine efficacy from preliminary studies possibly affected by “confounding and selective reporting” to inform the country’s booster shot rollout. The best way to reduce the risk of serious illness and emerging variants would be to set aside the vaccine supply for the unvaccinated populations.