NEW YORK – New York health officials said Saturday that they will soon issue state guidance on administering a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for people with weak immune systems after the federal government will approve the additional dose.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker confirmed Saturday that the New York Vaccine Task Force met Friday to discuss the matter and would complete its review quickly.
Meanwhile, he encouraged doctors to contact patients who might qualify for a third dose and “discuss with them the benefits of receiving an additional dose.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that transplant recipients and other patients with similar immunodeficiency, but not the general public, may receive a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, which are typically two. dose. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backed the decision.
New York, like some other states, has its own working group of scientists and health experts who review COVID-19 vaccines, a process the state says is intended to ensure New Yorkers’ confidence in vaccines. .
The FDA’s decision applies to about 3% or fewer of American adults, including organ transplant recipients. The CDC stated that others who might qualify for the third dose would be people with advanced or untreated HIV infections and cancer patients who are receiving certain chemotherapies.
US health officials continue to assess whether and when reinforcements are required for all, but say they are not needed yet.
Meanwhile, some people have been looking for additional doses on their own, and the CDC says that about 1.1 million people have already received one. Some have crossed state lines or disguised their vaccination status to do so.
Countries like Israel, Germany, Russia, France and the United Kingdom have approved third doses for some especially vulnerable people.
However, the director of the World Health Organization recently urged wealthier nations to stop administering additional doses, emphasizing that vaccines are necessary in other countries where few people have received any injections.
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