‘No urgent need’ for boosters in EU… US over 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations most since February

Sept 1 (Reuters) – The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Wednesday there was no urgent need for booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the fully vaccinated, citing data on the effectiveness of shots.

The comments follow a similar statement from the European Medicines Agency last month that more data was needed on the duration of protection after full inoculation to recommend using booster shots.

The evidence on real-world effectiveness shows that all vaccines authorized in the region are highly protective against COVID-19-related hospitalisation, severe disease and death, the ECDC said. But the agency said extra doses can be considered for people who experience a limited response to the standard regimen, adding that these shots should be treated differently from booster doses.

Germany and France have announced they would begin giving boosters to vulnerable people and the immunocompromised from this month to protect citizens from the more infectious Delta variant.

The U.S. government has also started administering a third dose of Pfizer Inc (PFE.N)-BioNTech and Moderna Inc’s (MRNA.O) vaccines to those with compromised immunity. It plans to offer booster doses more widely from Sept. 20 if the country’s health regulators deem them necessary. read more

US over 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations most since February

The US is averaging over 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations a day for the first time since February, before many were eligible to get vaccinated, The New York Times reported. In the past two months, hospitalizations across the country have increased by nearly 500%, The Times reported. Florida claims the country’s highest hospitalizations tally with 16,457, the US Department of Health and Human Services said.

The Times reported that this month, one in five American ICUs reached or exceeded 95% capacity.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Shannon Byrd, a doctor in Knoxville, Tennessee, told The Times.

“It’s bringing whole families down and tearing families apart. They’re dying in droves and leaving surviving loved ones with a lot of funerals to go to.”

Byrd said the vast majority of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 were unvaccinated. Meanwhile, deaths have climbed to 1,000 a day for the first time since March, the report said. A forecast from researchers at the University of Washington found that the US was on track to record another 100,000 COVID-19 deaths by December 1, adding to the more than 637,500 deaths recorded. Experts told the Associated Press that the prediction can fluctuate based on people’s behavior, and some said mask-wearing in public spaces could cut the predicted death toll. “Behavior is really going to determine if, when, and how sustainably the current wave subsides,” Lauren Ancel Meyers, the director of the University of Texas’ COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, told the AP. “We cannot stop Delta in its tracks, but we can change our behavior overnight.” Our goal is to create a safe and engaging place for users to connect over interests and passions. In order to improve our community experience, we are temporarily suspending article commenting.