Report: Coronavirus Experts Quietly Urge Biden to Scale Down Booster Campaign

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 27: U.S. President Joe Biden rolls up his sleeve before receivi
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Several outside experts are quietly urging the Biden administration to scale back its coronavirus booster shot campaign, according to reports.

According to a report from Politico, some of these officials “objected to the administration’s approach during a private, off-the-record call last week with federal health officials.”

They reportedly echoed the concerns of others who have said that there is not enough data to support widespread boosters across the general population to reduce the number of breakthrough infections resulting in hospitalizations or fatalities. Rather, they emphasized booster shots should be prioritized and reserved for the most at-risk:

They told officials on the Sept. 27 call — including Biden’s chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci; White House policy adviser Cameron Webb; and the heads of the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — that the shots should be given to people most at risk of severe Covid-19 to reduce hospitalizations and deaths.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the use of booster shots for those 65 and older, those with underlying health conditions that make them high-risk for catching the virus, as well as certain frontline workers.

“As we learn more about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, including the use of a booster dose, we will continue to evaluate the rapidly changing science and keep the public informed,” FDA Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said at the time.

That same month, Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bucked the decision of her agency’s own advisory panel and recommended booster shots from frontline workers. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), however, only recommended coronavirus booster shots from older adults and at-risk individuals.

“Today, CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in certain populations and also recommended a booster dose for those in high risk occupational and institutional settings,” the CDC said in a September 24 statement, effectively nixing the Biden administration’s original desire to offer booster shots to virtually all vaccinated Americans.

The Associated Press

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to examine an update from Federal officials on efforts to combat COVID-19 on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

The Biden administration straying from such advice, they fear, could confuse the public and undermine credibility.

“It undermines credibility not just for [federal health] agencies but for the administration overall,” Irwin Redlener, director of the Pandemic Resource and Response Initiative at Columbia University, said. “Somebody needs a communication lesson. Maybe many people do.”

According to Politico, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the Biden administration “regularly engage[s] outside stakeholders from the medical community with a broad array of viewpoints for their feedback.”

The spokesperson added that they are “doing all we can to offer Americans the maximum protection afforded by vaccines, including constantly working to increase the number of primary vaccinations as well as ensuring boosters are available to all who are eligible.”

However, tension is rising yet again as the FDA gears up to approve booster shots from both Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. According to the outlet, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical adviser, expressed that booster shots should be distributed widely — a sentiment other experts disagreed with.

“It was very tense,” one source said, according to Politico. “More than anything, it was like Fauci felt he needed to make a point.”

It coincides with the position Biden took on September 24, when he told reporters that booster shots will be eventually offered to everyone.

“Well, I think what’s going to happen is you’re going to see that, in the near term — or we’re probably going to open this up anyway,” he said at the time.

“They’re constantly looking at — we’re looking at both Moderna and J&J. And we’re both — as I said in the speech — in addition to that, we’re also looking to the time when we’re going to be able to expand the booster shots, basically, across the board,” Biden added.

Last week, Fauci reiterated this sentiment by suggesting that the definition of fully vaccinated could soon shift to describe those who have received a booster shot, reflecting further tension between the administration and outside experts over messaging.

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