NBC NEWS – As cases of Covid-19 rise throughout the U.S., health officials warn that an increasing number of fully vaccinated people are being hospitalized or going to the emergency room.
The concern about waning immunity against severe Covid infection comes as the Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster shot for all adults 18 and older.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday in an interview:
“What we’re starting to see now is an uptick in hospitalizations among people who’ve been vaccinated but not boosted.”
“It’s a significant proportion, but not the majority by any means.”
“Studies show that those who are unvaccinated continue to be more likely to be infected, more likely to be in the hospital and more likely to have severe complications from Covid-19.” – Dr. Rochelle Walensky
On Wednesday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported a decline in vaccine effectiveness among the elderly and residents of long-term care facilities, many of whom were the first to be eligible to be vaccinated last winter.
Walensky said Wednesday at a White House Covid briefing:
“Although the highest risk are those people who are unvaccinated, we are seeing an increase in emergency department visits among adults 65 and older, which are now again higher than they are for younger age groups,”
Walensky also pointed to new data on long-term care facilities from the agency’s National Healthcare Safety Network comparing rates of Covid disease between people who are vaccinated with two doses and those who have received extra doses. She said:
“The rate of disease is markedly lower for those who received their booster shot, demonstrating our boosters are working.”
Fauci and Walensky stressed that the majority of hospitalizations and deaths are still among unvaccinated people in the U.S. … READ MORE.
