Chennai: While some manufacturers believe that their vaccines are effective against all variants of Covid-19, there are others which have noticed that the efficacy of their doses have been waning over time.
This is where the concept of a booster shot arises. Pfizer says it plans to meet with top US health officials to discuss the drugmaker’s request for federal authorization of a third dose of its Covid-19 vaccine as President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser acknowledged that ‘it is entirely conceivable, maybe likely’ that booster shots will be needed.
The company said it was scheduled to have the meeting with the Food and Drug Administration and other officials Monday, days after Pfizer asserted that booster shots would be needed within 12 months.
While Pfizer has reached out to US regulators to authorise a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine within the next month, countries like United Arab Emirates, Thailand or Bahrain which had inoculated most of its population with the Oxford Astrazeneca doses have already decided to offer a booster shot. Even the United Kingdom — which has approved the Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines— is already planning to give out boosters to those aged 50 and above before the winter.