70 Million People Are Unvaccinated; Boosters Of Pfizer Approved

Three-quarters of the United States eligible population have received at least one Covid 19 vaccine dose and many have become eligible for a booster dose. But the virus is still a very big threat to around 70 million unvaccinated eligible populations.

The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said on Friday that the unvaccinated remain the most vulnerable. The CDC approved a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a certain group of the country.

70 Million People Are Unvaccinated; Boosters Of Pfizer Approved

Dr. Vivek Murthy, The US Surgeon General said during a news briefing that if people fall into three high-risk categories, they will be eligible for a booster dose six months after two primary doses.

Number one in three categories is people above 65 years of age. Number two is people having medical conditions that make them vulnerable to severe sickness with coronavirus. The conditions that include this category are diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure among others.

The third category is people living in a setting that is highly exposed to the virus. This includes teachers, people living in shelters or prisons, grocery store workers, and healthcare workers.

The CDC has not yet endorsed booster shots of the vaccines of Johnson & Johnson and Moderna. Health officials are determining further procedures for these vaccines’ recipients.

Murthy said that the officials of the Food and Drug Administration are working with JNJ and modern to examine the data as soon as possible and make booster shot recommendations for these companies’ vaccines.

Walensky said that even as the eligibility of Pfizer vaccines’ booster dose is expanding to more Americans, we must speed up the primary vaccination rates in order to subside the pandemic.  She said on Friday that it is not possible to boost the way out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data from the CDC shows that more than 55% of the US residents are fully vaccinated and around 75% of the eligible population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The average death rate caused by COVID-19 was four times higher in the least vaccinated states compared to the most vaccinated states, showed a recent CNN analysis.

The vaccine advisors of the CDC suggested booster shots of Pfizer be administered only to people 65 years and above and those with health conditions. But Walensky recommended the group that is more exposed to the COVID-19 at their jobs.

Talking to Erin Burnett of CNN, Walesnky said that many people voted for booster doses for people who were vaccinated early, frontline workers, those who work in vulnerable settings, in grocery shops and facilities. She said that the question wasn’t whether yes or no it was if wait or do now.

CVS said that those who want to get a booster dose will have to self-attest to their eligibility. Those people should also be Pfizer’s recipients.

Those who affirm their eligibility and show proof of vaccination, have begun getting booster shots in Los Angeles County of California.

As high Covid 19 cases were reported, between 1st August and 17th September, 1,800 schools shut down affecting the education of more than 933,000 students. More than 60,000 teachers got affected by closures. The CDC examined data from more than 8700 districts and found that a majority of them were back on remote learning.

The study shows that the outbreaks of COVID-19 cases forced 300 schools in Tennessee to close, followed by Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention advises people in schools to follow preventive measures and wear masks even if they are vaccinated.