National debate is beginning over COVID-19 booster shots as healthcare experts warn unvaccinated people variants such as the Delta variant are highly contagious and hospitalizing young people.
"99% of the people who are in the hospital and die are unvaccinated," said Dr. John Goldman, infectious disease specialist at UPMC. "We know these vaccines work. What we don't know is for how long. And, we don't know if there's going to be a newer variant."
Pfizer is seeking U.S. authorization for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine claiming that another shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant. The CDC and FDA have said, however, at this time they do not believe people need to get booster shots.
"You may not want to start vaccinating literally hundreds of millions of people unless you need to," said Goldman as he noted the need for boosters will depend on how effective the current vaccines continue to be against future variants.
Goldman said the majority of people in Pennsylvania are vaccinated, so the Commonwealth may not see as large of a COVID-19 surge in the fall. But he and HersheyCare Pharmacist Chuck Kray once again stressed unvaccinated people are the least protected against the variants.
For people who don't want to get vaccinated, Kray said "the Delta variant should scare them speechless. It really should."
Healthcare experts stress current vaccinations are highly effective and are proving to be effective so far against the variants. However, they note the coronavirus continues to mutate and new variants could come in the future.
Research from multiple countries shows the Pfizer shot and other widely used COVID-19 vaccines offer strong protection against the highly contagious delta variant, which is spreading rapidly around the world and now accounts for most new U.S. infections.
Experts note it is still possible to get coronavirus even if someone is vaccinated. However, vaccinated people tend to not become extremely sick, be hospitalized, or die. They warn unvaccinated people the Delta variant is aggressive.
"When we get into September, October, November, there may be so much Delta variant that people who aren't vaccinated need to wear masks again," said Kray.