GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Mercy Health is preparing to give COVID-19 booster shots later this month but there's still important science to be worked out about who really needs them and when.
The Biden administration's initial plan was to offer Pfizer or Moderna boosters starting Sept. 20.
While data shows the vaccines used in the U.S. remain strongly protective against severe disease and death, their ability to prevent milder infection is dropping.
At Mercy Health, doctors say they are up to a 16% positivity rate, but they believe the vaccine is helping because the hospitalization rate is rising at a much lower rate than the test positivity rate.
"As much as that our COVID numbers are going up, we don't have the same number of staff available. We don't have the same number of people to kind of distribute out some of those sites. So frankly, it's going to be a little bit of a struggle for the healthcare organizations themselves to deliver things,” Dr. Andrew Jameson of Mercy Health said.
Dr. Jameson said they will not be able to support a massive vaccination clinic again and will have to rely on pharmacies, doctors' offices and health departments to give out the booster.
Scientific advisers will publicly debate Pfizer’s evidence on Sept. 17 and after that meeting, Mercy Health and other medical groups will meet to decide how they will begin to roll out the booster shots and who will get them first.
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