SUMMARY: Not only do booster shots risk depriving millions throughout the world of the vaccine, but there is also is no evidence that additional shots meaningfully reduce death or hospitalization from covid-19 for healthy Americans. (William F. Parker is an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Chicago and assistant director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics via the Washington Post)

Professor Parker says, “the Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would start offering coronavirus vaccine booster shots next month, recommending that Americans who received their original doses from Pfizer or Moderna seek a booster eight months after their initial shot. This profound global inequity would be not only a humanitarian disaster but also a significant long-term risk for Americans, as scientists agree that accelerating global vaccination is the only way to prevent the formation of deadly new variants.

That means booster shots should be subject to a randomized, controlled trial comparing three doses to two doses with the power to detect significant differences in hospitalizations or deaths.

That boosting all adults would be inappropriate without compelling evidence of improved efficacy does not mean the CDC was wrong to provide targeted booster access for small populations, such as organ transplant recipients on immunosuppressive drugs. … Just as importantly, offering the more than 50 million vaccines already distributed and sitting in freezers throughout the United States to these populations presents little risk of global deprivation compared to purchasing millions of additional doses, not yet distributed to states, for use as boosters in the general population.

William F. Parker is an assistant professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Chicago and assistant director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics via the Washington Post)

Helen Branswell at STAT news says that “U.S. officials’ decision on Covid-19 booster shots baffles — and upsets — some scientists”.

Paul Offit, a vaccine expert from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, says, “anyone who thinks that vaccinating Americans with a third dose is not going to come at the expense of getting the vaccine to other places in the world — if that’s what you think, you’re just kidding yourself”.

Then there are the drug companies. Pfizer’s CEO recently said, “just trust us” when it comes to booster shots. Pfizer and partner BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine sales are expected to reach $74 billion through next year, excluding Germany and Belgium, 17% more than previous estimates, according to Ronny Gal, a Sanford Bernstein pharmaceuticals analyst. Meanwhile, the analyst projects Moderna will ring up $35 billion during the span, 25% more sales than previously forecast.

There may be people at Pfizer who believe they developed the vaccine to help people, which it did, but I can assure you that C suite executives saw dollar signs, HUGE dollar signs. At the same time, people are already panicking about getting a booster shot in developing countries that haven’t seen sufficient vaccines to halt the deadly virus.

I asked my doctor about booster shots, and she replied that she would NOT suggest a booster shot until maybe the end of the year, and even then, she wants to do a COVID antibody test first. Once again the FDA and CDC are surrounding to panic rather than science and in the process, they’re making drug companies very wealthy.