In the United States, green light for a third dose of vaccine for the immunocompromised – Release

People with weakened immune systems will be able to receive a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine against Covid-19, the United States Medicines Agency announced Thursday.–

Soon a recall campaign for populations at risk across the Atlantic. The United States on Thursday authorized the injection of a third dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccine against Covid-19 for people with weakened immune systems. “The country has entered a new wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the FDA [Agence américaine des médicaments] is fully aware of the fact that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk of contracting serious illness ”, said Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the FDA. “Other people who have the full vaccination schedule are duly protected and do not need an additional dose of the anti-Covid vaccine to date”, Janet Woodcock added.

These are people whose immune system is weakened, for example due to an organ transplant or a disease, such as AIDS or cancer. In immunocompromised people, the immune response triggered by the injection of the vaccine is weaker than in healthy people, which affects its effectiveness. Less than 3% of American adults are immunocompromised, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country’s leading federal public health agency.

This immune weakness can come from the health problems of these patients, but also from the drugs they take to solve them. This is the case, for example, in transplant recipients, who follow treatments intended to lower the immune system to avoid rejection of the transplanted organ.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for a moratorium on booster doses to fight inequality between rich countries, where vaccines abound, and poor countries, which have failed to immunize. only a small part of their population. The United States rejected this appeal, believing that it had “no need” to choose between administering a third dose to their citizens or donating it to poor countries.

According to a document revealed by ABC, around a million people have already arranged to get a third injection without being authorized. Asked about the issue Thursday, CDC director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that the phenomenon was being studied by her agency, and asked the population to “Follow recommendations”. “We do not currently believe that, apart from immunocompromised people, there is a need to give booster doses”, White House pandemic adviser Anthony Fauci said on CBS Thursday morning as Israel plans to give a third dose to those over 50.

“We will have to proceed with recalls”

Anthony Fauci stressed on NBC that it is necessary to distinguish between immunocompromised people who have never had “A good answer” immune system after two injections, and “The duration of the response” in those in good health. However, he indicated that the level of protection in the latter was observed “closely”. “And if it turns out that they need [d’une troisième dose] at some point we will be ready to give them ”, he said. “Inevitably, there will be a point where we have to make recalls”, he added.

The speech has therefore changed since the beginning of July. In response to an announcement from Pfizer, which said it planned to seek authorization soon for a third dose of its vaccine, the FDA and the CDC then quickly issued a statement assuring that vaccinated Americans had not “No need for a reminder at this time”. More than 619,000 people have died in the United States from Covid-19, and the number of cases of contamination has increased sharply in recent months due to the spread of the Delta variant.

Vaccines are free and widely available in the United States, but only half of the population is fully vaccinated. The pace of vaccination in the country has slowed especially in politically conservative parts of the South and Midwest, and among younger people, low-income people and racial minorities. President Joe Biden announced in July that all federal employees must attest to a vaccination or face strict restrictions such as regular testing, amid rising hospitalizations.

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