FDA Expected To Approve COVID Vaccine Booster Shots For Americans Who Are Immunocompromised
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Food and Drug Administration is expected to expand emergency use authorization orders Thursday and allow COVID booster shots for some fully vaccinated people.
Dr. Anthony Fauci called the change "imminent," saying the FDA will sign off on booster shots for Americans who are immunocompromised -- roughly 2.7% of U.S. adults. The president's chief medical adviser said he believes booster shots will eventually be recommended for even more people.
"We are following this in real time... Elderly, younger individuals, people in nursing homes to determine if, in fact, the level of protection is starting to attenuate," Dr. Fauci said Thursday.
This comes after new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said vaccines are safe at any point during pregnancy, post partum and for those planning to get pregnant. The recommendation went from "could" get vaccinated to "should" get vaccinated.
"When pregnant women who are unvaccinated, when those individuals get infected with SARS COVID-2 and get COVID-19, it is very detrimental not only to the woman herself but to the fetus," said Dr. Fauci.
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In New York State, the number of COVID patients in hospital ICUs has more than triple in a month, and the daily statewide death toll has been in the double digits for four straight days after a long streak of single digits.
The Delta variant accounts for most cases in the city.
"We've got 1,650 cases. I don't like that one bit," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.
On Thursday, the Brooklyn Nets partnered with health officials for a pop-up vaccine clinic, offering free tickets to those who got a shot, like Shania Saunders, who needs it to return to college.
"Even though I am a little bit scared because it's still a new vaccine, I feel like I'll be fine," she told CBS2's John Dias.
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"We want people to be vaccinated, obviously, to go to the games, but we want the Brooklyn community to be health," said Jackie Wilson, executive director of diversity and inclusion for the Nets.
While more than 30 restaurants across the city already ask for proof of vaccination, it will be required for indoor activities citywide, such as dining, gyms and concerts, starting next week. Enforcement will begin on Sept. 13.
New York City is still holding off on an indoor mask mandate, but Bridgeport, Norward and Stanford have issued the rule again in Connecticut.
