Reports: Biden administration to recommend COVID-19 booster after 8 months

Aug. 17 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden's administration is expected to formally recommend, as soon as this week, that most vaccinated Americans receive a booster shot after eight months to be better protected against COVID-19.

The New York Times, The Washington Post and NPR reported that the White House favors the booster after scientists found that the vaccines' effectiveness start to wane over time as the coronavirus mutates.

The Delta variant has caused to a resurgence of the virus worldwide and prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to again recommend people to wear masks indoors in crowded spaces, regardless of vaccination status.

Many companies and school districts also have started to require that employees and students wear masks.

NPR reported that the extra booster shots could be made available as soon as late September, pending Food and Drug Administration authorization.

In Israel, where most received the Pfizer vaccine, researchers found continued erosion of the shot's effectiveness against mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 and against severe disease among elderly persons who were vaccinated early this year.

"It shows a pretty steep decline in effectiveness against infection, but it's still a bit murky about protection against severe disease," vaccine expert Dr. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told the Times.

Most elderly people and front-line health and emergency workers in the United States were among the first to receive their vaccine doses in January and February, and would likely be first to receive the booster, the news reports said.