Third Dose of COVID Vaccine Already in the Works for People With Weak Immune Systems, Dr. Anthony Fauci Says
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. The committee will hear testimony about the Biden administration's ongoing plans to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and Delta variant. Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images

White House chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said health officials are now working to authorize a third COVID vaccine shot for people with weak immune systems.

Fauci noted that people with weak immune systems do not produce an adequate immune response after receiving two doses of a COVID vaccine, CNBC reported.

Fauci said immunocompromised people were vulnerable to coronavirus, so authorizing a third shot was a high priority for federal health officials at the moment.

"It is extremely important for us to move to get those individuals their boosters, and we are now working on that and we will make that be implemented as quickly as possible," Fauci stressed during a White House briefing on Thursday, August 5.

Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory group noted that people with weakened immune systems comprise about 2.7 percent of the U.S. adult population.

In addition, people who are immunocompromised account for 44 percent of breakthrough cases. Studies suggest that the third dose of a COVID vaccine might help patients who did not produce enough immune response on the first or second dose.

COVID Vaccine Third Dose

Anthony Fauci said that based on observational data, immunocompromised people do not produce an adequate immune response to be protected enough.

Other countries have already offered a third dose of the vaccine for people with cancer or other immune impairments, such as the case of France.

Meanwhile, the United States had rejected an appeal from the UN health agency World Health Organization (WHO) that urged countries and companies to prioritize addressing the unequal vaccine distribution, particularly between the rich and poor countries.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said they feel it was a false choice, adding that the U.S. can do both, The Times of Israel reported. Psaki noted that the country has enough supply to provide vaccines to every American.

The press secretary added that they would have enough supply if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided that boosters are recommended for a part of the population.

COVID Vaccine Booster Shot

Moderna said its COVID vaccine booster shot had produced a "robust" antibody response against the delta variant. The new variant was said to be as contagious as chickenpox.

The CDC added that the delta variant could also make older people more ill even if they are fully vaccinated, according to another CNBC report.

Fauci has also predicted that things are going to get worse with the COVID situation. The country's top infectious disease expert said they are looking for some pain and suffering in the future as the cases go up.

Fauci noted that there could be a variant lingering out there that can push aside the delta variant. Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, the vice provost for global initiatives and co-director of the Health Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, said the worry has to be that something new will evolve, dubbing it as "epsilon" or some other variant.

Emanuel noted that they have to be observing that development very carefully.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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