Fauci: 'No need' for Omicron-specific booster

Fauci: 'No need' for Omicron-specific booster Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that the new Omicron strain of the coronavirus would not require a variant-specific booster, which would have meant a fourth dose of the vaccine for some Americans. YahooNews

WASHINGTON — White House medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that the new Omicron strain of the coronavirus would not require a variant-specific booster, which would have meant a fourth dose of the vaccine for some Americans. "Our booster vaccine regimens work against Omicron,” Fauci said at a press briefing of the White House pandemic response team. “At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster." ...

So far, full vaccination has meant two shots of an mRNA vaccine manufactured by Pfizer or Moderna, or a single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which does not use the relatively new mRNA biotechnology. But some epidemiologists, including Fauci, have conceded that a third shot would eventually be necessary to constitute full vaccination.

The arrival of Omicron made some wonder if it would require a booster shot of its own, since it has a high number of mutations. And whether, more broadly, every new strain would involve a scramble for new vaccines, instead of vaccinations serving as an end to the pandemic, as many thought they were bound to be. ...