Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, says booster shots for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will likely begin this month, with Moderna’s possibly following a few weeks afterward.
The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaking Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said the administration plans to start the booster for the two-dose Pfizer vaccine by Sept. 20, pending federal approval.
“Looks like Pfizer has their data in, likely would meet the deadline,” he said. “We hope that Moderna would also be able to do it so we could do it simultaneously, but if not, we’ll do it sequentially. So the bottom line is very likely, at least part of the plan will be implemented, but ultimately the entire plan will be.”
Fauci said final determination of third doses will be made by the Food and Drug Administration.
The U.S. is currently working on boosters for those who received the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to be administered five to eight months after their second dose, subject to approval by the FDA.
Federal health officials are also studying whether a booster shot for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is necessary.
As of Monday, 53% of the U.S. population, or roughly 176 million people, has been fully vaccinated with either of the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson version, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
