Pfizer has lately said that research from Israel and the United States have shown that the effectiveness of their shots COVID-19 is declining with time and that booster doses are helpful in dealing with emerging viral strains.
"Real-world data from Israel and the United States suggest that rates of breakthrough infections are rising faster in individuals who were vaccinated earlier in the vaccination campaigns compared to those who have been vaccinated more recently," Pfizer said in this week's presentation. This has been published on the FDA website.
And, according to Pfizer, the research showed that the "observed decrease of vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infections is primarily due to waning of vaccine immune responses over time rather than a result of the Delta variant escaping vaccine protection."
Thus, based on these findings, Pfizer said that the booster doses should be administered to those aged 16 years and older after their second mRNA vaccine dose has been received.
The pharmaceutical company also highlighted a Kaiser Permanente study that showed protection against COVID-19 infection decreased from 88% after the second dosage to 47% after five months.
An FDA panel was reportedly due to discuss and vote on the recommendation for booster shots or a third dose of vaccine on Sept. 17. The company therefore tries to imply the necessity for boosters ahead of the upcoming FDA meeting.
The Epoch Times also noted that government health authorities have set September 20 for the public to get booster shots, despite a recent study by top WHO and FDA scientists concluding that the general population does not require one.
Nonetheless, two senior FDA vaccine inspectors who, according to The Epoch Times, are set to depart the Agency shortly and over a dozen prominent academics claimed in a paper published in The Lancet on September 13 that booster shots are unnecessary for the general populace.
They claimed that possible adverse effects from further doses may negate the "benefits" and said that such a situation would actually raise the hesitation of vaccination.
"Current evidence does not ... appear to show a need for boosting in the general population, in which efficacy against severe disease remains high," said the study. "Even if boosting were eventually shown to decrease the medium-term risk of serious disease, current vaccine supplies could save more lives if used in previously unvaccinated populations."
Just this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made a strong statement asking for a ban on booster shots to be put in place until the end of 2021. He claimed during a press conference that since corporations are speeding up manufacturing of the additional vaccine doses, poorer countries are being denied access to the first doses.
"I will not stay silent when companies and countries that control the global supply of vaccines think the world's poor should be satisfied with leftovers," Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on September 8. "Because manufacturers have prioritized or been legally obliged to fulfill bilateral deals with rich countries willing to pay top dollar, low-income countries have been deprived of the tools to protect their people."
Dr. Mike Ryan, another WHO official, reportedly said that COVID-19 would persist and develop into a virus similar to the "influenza"
According to Ryan, who spoke at a separate press conference, "People have said we're going to eliminate or eradicate the virus. No, we're not, very, very unlikely."
