“Look what other countries are doing now about adopting a booster campaign virtually for everybody,” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Biden administration’s top Covid adviser, said at a conference on Tuesday. “I think if we do that, and we do it in earnest, I think by the spring we can have pretty good control of this.”
What to Know About Covid Vaccines and Boosters
But many experts, including some who advise federal agencies, are skeptical that boosters alone can turn the tide. While the extra shots can strengthen immunity in older adults, they are unlikely to offer much benefit to adults under 65, who remain protected from severe illness and hospitalization by the initial immunization, the experts said.
It is also unclear whether booster shots can significantly slow the spread of the virus. The limited evidence available suggests that vaccines can blunt transmission, but only to a limited extent and for a limited period.
Many pandemic-weary Americans, too, seem unmoved by the administration’s push for boosters. More than 85 percent of the adult population is already eligible, but only about 17 percent has chosen to get them. And those may not be the people most in need of extra protection.
As with the initial shots, fully vaccinated white people are more likely to have lined up for a booster shot, compared with other racial and ethnic groups, according to data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
So far, the people who have opted for boosters “tend to be of higher socioeconomic status and more highly educated, and have more access in general to medical care,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at Bellevue Hospital Center.
“That’s not necessarily who’s actually at risk of severe disease, hospitalization or death, and so I think you’re going to have limited public health impact.”
Noah Weiland contributed reporting.
