The US will begin offering third Covid-19 booster shots to every American starting in September, top health officials announced Wednesday.
“Based on our latest assessment, the current protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death could diminish in the months ahead, especially among those who are at higher risk or were vaccinated during the earlier phases of the vaccination rollout,” federal health officials said in a joint statement Wednesday.
According to a joint release from the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, the shots will become available from September 20 as long as they receive emergency approval.
“We would also begin efforts to deliver booster shots directly to residents of long-term care facilities at that time, given the distribution of vaccines to this population early in the vaccine rollout and the continued increased risk that Covid-19 poses to them,” the statement read.
Every American will be eligible to receive an additional dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines eight months after their second shot.
Health officials are investigating the need for booster shots for those who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More data is expected to emerge in the coming weeks.