NEWSCENTER 5 AT 5:30. IKERA: A BOOSTER SHOT COULD BE AVAILABLE WITHIN WEEKS FOR PEOPLE WHO ALREADY RECEIVED TWO DOSES OF A COVID VACCINE FROM PFIZER OR MODERNA. HERE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IS DR. HELEN BOUCHER, THE INTERIM DEAN OF TUFTS MEDICAL SCOLHO AND AN INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AT TUFTS MEDICAL CENR.TE GREAT TO SEE YOU. >> BEN: WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THESE THIRD DOSES FOR MONTHS NOW. NOW WE’RE HEARING, WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS, FEDERAL HEAHLT OFFICIALS WILL FINALLY RECOMMEND THEM TO PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED FOR MORE THAN 8 MONT.HS WHY IS THAT THE MAGIC NUMBER? WHAT HAPPENST A THAT POINT? >> THEREAS H BEEN DATA FROM ISRAEL AND THE MAYO CLINIC SUGGESNGTI DECREASED PROTECTION AGAINST INFECTION AFTER ABOUT SIX MONTHS. IMPORTANTLY, THOUGH, THERE HAS NOT BEEN A SIGN AGAINST — OF DECREASED PROTECTION AGAINST GETTING VERY SICK OR DEATH. WE HAVE NOT HEARD OFFICIALLY, BUT THE FDA MAY AUTHORIZE BOOSTERS FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS AS SOON AS NEXT MONTH. ERIK A: CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, YOU HAVE BEEN VACCINATED FOR LONGER THAN EIGHT MONTHS. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS YOU MAY NOT HAVE FULL PROTECTION FROM THE VIS?RU >> I DON’T. ETH DATA WE HAVE SEEN IS ROBUST AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN VACCINATED WITH ALL THREE OF THE AVAILABLE VACCINES, PFIZER, MODERNA AND JOHNSON & JOHNSON, ALL HAVE GATREER 90% PROTECTION AGAINST GETTING SICK ENOUGH TO COME TO THE HOSPITAL OR DYING. THAT’S WHAT THESE WERE DESIGNED TOO D AND WE HAVE EVIDENCE THEY ARE DOING THAT EVEN AGAINST THE DELTA VARIANT. BE N: WE ARE GETTING A LOT OF EMAILS FROM A FAIR NUMBER OF VIEWERS, MOST OF THEM FRUSTRATED THAT THEY HAVEN’T HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT A BOOSTER FOR THE JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE. WE KNOW HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HERE IN MASSACHUSETTS RECEIVED THAT, 13 MILLIOPEOPLEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WHEN WILL WE KNOW IF THEY NEED ONE? >>E? THE FDA TELLS US THEY DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH DATA IN THE CDC TO RECOMMEND LAST WEEK WHEN THEY GIVE US THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE THIRD DOSE IN IMMUNO COMPROMISED PATIENTS. BUT THEY PROMISED THEY WILL HAVE MORE DATA SOON AND WE WILL HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS FOTHOSER PATIENTS SOON. ERIKA: SOME VIEWERS HAVE ASKED ABOUT SWITCHING TO A DIFFERENT TYPE OF VACCINE. MARY WRITES, I AM IMMUNOCOMPROMID.SE CAN I GET A NON-J&J BOOSR?TE >>O S FAR, OUR RECOMMENDATION IS FOLLOW LIKE WITH LIKE. THERE ARE STUESDI ONGOING TO LOOK AT THE SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OFIXING M THE — VACCINES AND I HOPE WE WILL SEE DATA SOON. ERIKA: WE HAVE A TEAM OF DOCTORS ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS EVERY AFTERNOON ON NEWSCENTER 5. EMAIL UST AASK@WCVB.COM AND TELL US WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW. AND TUNE IN EVERY AFTERNOON STARTING AT 4:00 FOR ANSWE
Boston doctor explains why 8 months is magic number for COVID-19 booster shots
A Boston doctor is explaining why experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 boosters for all fully-vaccinated Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.Dr. Helen Boucher, an infectious disease expert at Tufts Medical Center, says data from studies done in Israel and by the Mayo Clinic suggests there is decreased protection against coronavirus infection six months after the second dose was administered.”Importantly, though, there has not been a sign of decreased protection against getting very sick or death. So based on that data, we understand — we haven’t heard officially — that the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) may authorize boosters for certain individuals as soon as next month,” said Boucher, who is also the interim dean of Tufts Medical School.Boucher, who received her second COVID-19 vaccine dose more than eight months ago, says she has no concerns that she may not have full protection from the coronavirus.”The data that we’ve seen is very robust now,” she said. “Millions of people who’ve been vaccinated with all three of the available vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna and (Johnson & Johnson) — all have greater than 90% protection against getting sick enough to come to the hospital or, even worse, dying. That’s what these vaccines were designed to do and we have evidence that they’re doing that, even against the delta variant.”NewsCenter 5 has received multiple emails from viewers who have expressed frustration that there has been no word about a booster shot for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.More than 296,000 J&J doses have been administered in Massachusetts, according to the state’s Department of Public Health, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 13 million people across the country have received the single-shot vaccine.Boucher says the FDA and CDC did not have enough data on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to make a recommendation on a J&J booster for immunocompromised people.”They promised that they would have more data soon, and I think you’ll see recommendations for our patients who received J&J relatively soon,” she said.For now, Boucher says that people who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, even those who are immunocompromised, should not receive a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot.”So far, the recommendations that we have are to follow like with like,” Boucher said. “So if you received Pfizer, you would get the third dose, if you’re immunocompromised, with Pfizer.”According to Boucher, there are ongoing studies that examine the safety and effectiveness of mixing COVID-19 vaccines that were made by different companies, and she hopes to see data from those studies very soon.Massachusetts vaccination progressMassachusetts COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and fatalities
A Boston doctor is explaining why experts are expected to recommend COVID-19 boosters for all fully-vaccinated Americans, regardless of age, eight months after they received their second dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
Dr. Helen Boucher, an infectious disease expert at Tufts Medical Center, says data from studies done in Israel and by the Mayo Clinic suggests there is decreased protection against coronavirus infection six months after the second dose was administered.
“Importantly, though, there has not been a sign of decreased protection against getting very sick or death. So based on that data, we understand — we haven’t heard officially — that the (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) may authorize boosters for certain individuals as soon as next month,” said Boucher, who is also the interim dean of Tufts Medical School.
Boucher, who received her second COVID-19 vaccine dose more than eight months ago, says she has no concerns that she may not have full protection from the coronavirus.
“The data that we’ve seen is very robust now,” she said. “Millions of people who’ve been vaccinated with all three of the available vaccines — Pfizer, Moderna and (Johnson & Johnson) — all have greater than 90% protection against getting sick enough to come to the hospital or, even worse, dying. That’s what these vaccines were designed to do and we have evidence that they’re doing that, even against the delta variant.”
NewsCenter 5 has received multiple emails from viewers who have expressed frustration that there has been no word about a booster shot for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
More than 296,000 J&J doses have been administered in Massachusetts, according to the state’s Department of Public Health, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than 13 million people across the country have received the single-shot vaccine.
Boucher says the FDA and CDC did not have enough data on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to make a recommendation on a J&J booster for immunocompromised people.
“They promised that they would have more data soon, and I think you’ll see recommendations for our patients who received J&J relatively soon,” she said.
For now, Boucher says that people who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, even those who are immunocompromised, should not receive a Pfizer or Moderna booster shot.
“So far, the recommendations that we have are to follow like with like,” Boucher said. “So if you received Pfizer, you would get the third dose, if you’re immunocompromised, with Pfizer.”
According to Boucher, there are ongoing studies that examine the safety and effectiveness of mixing COVID-19 vaccines that were made by different companies, and she hopes to see data from those studies very soon.
