On August 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to recommend that individuals who are immunocompromised receive a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. This recommendation follows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) amendment of its emergency use authorization (EUA) to authorize a third dose for individuals with a reduced ability to fight diseases and are especially vulnerable to infections, including COVID-19.
The advisory panel indicated that FDA’s revised EUA is intended for people with moderate to severe immune suppression, as opposed to mild immune suppression associated with chronic conditions. The August 13 meeting was a follow up to a meeting held in July to review data regarding boosters for immunocompromised people. Almost 2.7 percent of adults in the United States are immunocompromised, but 44 percent of hospitalized breakthrough cases were immunocompromised people, according to a study cited by ACIP. Additionally, ACIP said that emerging data suggested that an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose in immunocompromised people enhanced antibody response. COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for the general public have not yet been recommended.
Counties have supported over 150 million adult vaccinations in the U.S. to date and will continue to play an essential role in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters as key providers of local public health services and frontline service providers for the medically vulnerable.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- NACo’s COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Toolkit
- NACo Brief: The County Role in Vaccines
- FDA Amends Pfizer Vaccine EUA to Include Children Aged 12-15
