Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 9)  With the emergence of more contagious variants, an annual COVID-19 vaccine booster may be a wise thing to do to stay in control against the coronavirus, a former United States Food and Drug Administration official said.
“I think that a COVID-19 booster shot on the annual basis is a prudent thing to do,” Peter Pitts, ex-US FDA associate commissioner told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word, when asked if it’s time to use a vaccine booster amid the threats posed by COVID-19 variants.
He said studies have shown existing mRNA vaccines – like those made by US drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna – are highly effective, but for how long remains uncertain.
“We do not know how long [they will be highly effective], so I think that every year we are going to be looking at a booster shot for COVID-19 just as we look at new shots for the annual flu because the repercussions of allowing the virus to regain control are simply not acceptable, so we want to stay in control,” Pitts explained.
Pfizer recently said it is making efforts to speed up its development of a booster to protect people from COVID-19 variants. It plans to seek emergency use approval from the US FDA in August after releasing more data on the performance of a third dose.
Other vaccine makers are also considering or are already developing their own boosters – which is good because it gives people more options, Pitts said.
But how soon should a fully vaccinated individual get a booster?
Pitts said there is no data about this yet, but he reiterated it is likely to be taken annually. However, for vaccines like China’s Sinovac – which have 50% to 70% efficacy rate against the Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants – it might be advisable to get a booster within 6 to 8 months.
He also noted that booster shots may have fewer side effects than the initial vaccination “since the body already understands what the code means, and the body is already producing the antibodies.”
When it comes to non-mRNA vaccines like AstraZeneca and China-made shots, Pitts said boosters may still be equally effective.
“A booster shot reminds the body of what to do. It reminds the body that the code it has can be, on a regular basis, used to produce antibodies,” he added.
On mixing and matching vaccines, Pitts said there are ongoing discussions on this, and there is solid data from the United Kingdom that showed it can be done.
In the Philippines, the government has yet to give a go-signal to mix other brands with Sinovac since the mix-and-match approach has only been proven to be effective at least on Pfizer and AstraZeneca.