Gov't officials remain unconvinced Americans need COVID vaccine booster shot just yet

Following a meeting with Pfizer executives, U.S. health officials said they remain unconvinced that Americans need a booster shot.

Americans who are fully vaccinated don’t need another shot, top U.S. health officials said late Monday following a private meeting with top executives at Pfizer, which says it had new data showing a third vaccine dose could boost the body’s antibody response five- to ten-fold. The statements appear to close the door – at least for now – on the suggestion that people who were among the first to be vaccinated more than six months ago would once again need to line up for a third shot. One factor that could change that calculus is the emergence of new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. "At this time, fully vaccinated Americans do not need a booster shot," the Department of Health and Human Sciences said in a statement following the meeting with Pfizer. Pfizer called its meeting with government health officials "productive" and said it would publish more "definitive data" in a peer-reviewed journal soon.