CDC director endorses boosters for healthcare and frontline workers
Many healthcare workers are now nine months past the first round of vaccines, says AHA's CEO and president.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky
Photo: Pool/Getty Images
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has endorsed booster shots for healthcare workers and other vulnerable Americans.
Walensky made the move in signing off on a series of recommendations from a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel. But Walensky expanded the populations that get a booster to include at-risk workers such as doctors, nurses, teachers and people who live in institutional settings.
On Tuesday, an 18-member FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee overwhelmingly rejected a question to approve a booster for all individuals 16 and older. Members discussed, and through polling agreed, to the need for healthcare workers and other frontline staff such as teachers to get an additional shot, but took no vote.
An Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended supporting a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at least six months after the primary series in individuals 65 years of age and older, long-term care facility residents and in persons aged 50-64 with underlying medical conditions. The ACIP also recommended a booster dose based for those 18-49 who have underlying medical conditions.
The ACIP did not recommend booster doses for adults at risk of occupational or environmental exposure, such as healthcare personnel, teachers and other essential workers.
On Thursday, the FDA approved emergency use authorization for a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine to be given at least six months after completion of the second dose for individuals 65 years and older, individuals 18-64 at high risk of severe COVID-19 and for those ages 18-64 whose occupational exposure place them at risk of serious complications from the coronavirus.
Walensky said adding healthcare workers aligns with that FDA decision.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Healthcare organizations commended Walensky's decision.
"We welcome Dr. Walensky's decision to recommend the booster shot for frontline healthcare workers, which aligns with the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization for booster shots that includes healthcare workers and others whose occupations increase their risk of exposure to COVID-19," said Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association.
"Healthcare workers were among the first to receive the vaccines, and many workers are now nine months out from their initial vaccine series. At a time when hospitals across the country are experiencing ongoing surges in COVID-19 hospitalizations and severe workforce shortages, all available tools – including booster shots – should be considered to keep frontline healthcare workers safe and safeguard access to care."
The recommendation will allow physicians and other vaccine providers to offer a booster dose of the Pfizer vaccine to those patients who need it, said Dr. Gerald E. Harmon, president of the American Medical Association.
"We applaud and fully support the leadership shown by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., in permitting a booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for adults at risk of occupational or environmental exposure, particularly for healthcare professionals. Given that we are in the midst of a global pandemic that continues to cause widespread illness and death, we must do everything we can to protect our frontline healthcare professionals," he said.
THE LARGER TREND
The latest data shows a decline in vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection in individuals 65 years of age and older, particularly during the Delta wave, according to Harmon. Hospitalization rates are 10 to 22 times higher in the unvaccinated compared with the vaccinated, he said.
Providers continue to struggle through COVID-19 surges and staff shortages.
Hospitals are projected to lose $54 billion in net income this year due to treating sicker patients, spending more for labor, supplies and equipment and because people are continuing to put off care.
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: susan.morse@himssmedia.com
