Europe’s CDC Says No Urgent Need For COVID Boosters

Overnight, Europe’s CDC – the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) – said there was no urgent need for booster doses(LINK) of COVID-19 vaccines for the fully vaccinated, citing data on the effectiveness of shots, Reuters reported.

This announcement goes the opposite direction of the CDC in America, which has started administering a third dose of Pfizer Inc-BioNTech and Moderna Inc’s vaccines to those with compromised immunity. Leadership is heavily pushing for booster shots, much like Israel, where the booster shot has been administered. The vast majority of Americans who were already vaccinated, according to polls are welcoming a 3rd booster shot.

The comments follow a similar statement from the European Medicines Agency last month that more data was needed on the duration of protection after full inoculation to recommend using booster shots, Reiters said.

The evidence on real-world effectiveness shows that all vaccines authorized in the region are highly protective against COVID-19-related hospitalisation, severe disease and death, the ECDC said. But the agency said extra doses can be considered for people who experience a limited response to the standard regimen, adding that these shots should be treated differently from booster doses.