People who have received three vaccine doses have been affected by the new wave of infections. Scientists, health officials, and Big pharma CEOs have been debating whether or not fourth shots could further blunt the variant.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's medical advisor, told ABC News Sunday that it was "entirely conceivable" that we would need to boost again. The CEO of Moderna said in January that fourth doses would probably be needed this fall.
People with weakened immune systems can get fourth doses in some countries. After a doctor's consultation, Hungarians can get a fourth shot.
Israel announced on Thursday that people under the age of 60 with underlying health conditions can get a fourth dose of Omicron. Israel's vaccine advisory committee recommended Tuesday that everyone older than 18 be allowed a fourth dose of the vaccine.
The current thinking from scientists and Big pharma CEOs is that fourth doses are not necessary for most people.
John Moore told Insider that the US should not automatically do what Israel is doing.
There is a question of whether everyone needs a fourth dose of the vaccine that was designed to fight the earliest form of the coronaviruses. Omicron has a lot of the same genes as the vaccines that target them.
Real-world data from the UK and US show that three shots are more effective against Omicron hospitalization. The data suggests that protection lasts at least three months.
There isn't much data to suggest that four or more of the existing vaccines provide enough benefit.
Preliminary data from Israel shows that four doses were three times more effective against serious illness and twice as effective as three doses. The people with the data were older than 60.
A small study from Israel found that people were still catching Omicron after four doses.
The studies have not been published or scrutinized by other experts.
Bob Wachter, a professor and chair of the department of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said on Thursday that if he was offered a fourth shot, he would hold off. He said the evidence was too weak with the exception of severely immunocompromised people.
Mike Ryan, head of the health emergencies program at the World Health Organization, told STAT on January 3 that there were an awful lot of unknowns.
It can't be the decision of one manufacturer to say, "Well, this is what we're going to make, and this is what you're going to buy."
Alternative options to fourth doses using the same vaccine would be provided by vaccines designed specifically for Omicron. They are not available yet.
On Sunday, Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, told Israel's N12 News that his company was creating a vaccine to cover Omicron and other variants, and that he hoped for a once-a-year shot. Pfizer said it was testing a fourth dose of the original shot.
At the World Economic Forum on January 17, Moderna's Bancel acknowledged that existing vaccines were holding and that it was testing an Omicron-specific shot.
The high effectiveness of three shots against severe infections was a high bar to cross, and Wachter said that it was possible an Omicron-targeted vaccine could work better than existing shots.
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