Transcript White House Covid-19 Response Team Press Briefing
Link: https://bit.ly/3DQ1QeO
The White House Covid-19 Response Team held a teleconference with the media on Thursday, with Drs. Fauci and Walensky present to field questions from reporters. A link to the transcript is in the description.
In a brief statement, Dr.Fauci cited recent studies in Israel which show evidence of a dramatic decrease in the number of infections among the vaccinated who received a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine.
His conclusion: "There’s no doubt from the dramatic data from the Israeli study that the boosts that are being now done there and contemplated here support, very strongly, the rationale for such an approach, based on the very favorable data associated with boost."
Zeke Miller of the AP asked Dr.Fauci if he thought people already vaccinated should be required to get a third shot, like they’re being required to in Israel. Fauci said that that determination will be made by the FDA and the CDC, but did offer his opinion.
"... from my own experience as an immunologist, I would not at all be surprised that the adequate, full regimen for vaccination will likely be three doses."
If Dr.Fauci believes that three doses is likely, then I think we can expect the CDC to issue similar guidance in the near future.
I’m skeptical, however, of his assertion that three doses will be adequate to being fully vaccinated, because we’ve been down this road before.
Here’s a chart from the CDC website showing the number of reported Covid-19 cases going back to the beginning of the pandemic. I’ve added the colored arrows to highlight the changes over the last several months.
The chart indicates that from the beginning of February until the end of May, there was a sharp decline in the number of daily new cases. This should not surprise us since it coincides with the rollout of the vaccine. But since the start of June, we’ve experienced a dramatic increase in cases because of the Delta variant which has proven to be more resistant to the vaccine.
Dr. Fauci states that a third shot will bring those numbers back down again, just like in Israel. His assumption is probably correct. But here’s my question: how long will the protection of a third shot last? Here’s Dr.Fauci again.
"And if it is durable, then you’re going to have — very likely — a three-dose regimen being the routine regimen."
“If it’s durable,...” that’s the condition that must be met in order for a three shot regimen to be the full regimen. But can we be as confident about that as Dr.Fauci?
The protection from the two doses apparently didn’t last all that long. What happens when a new variant emerges that is able to beat the vaccine, causing another spike in cases? Will a fourth shot then become necessary?
Or to put it more bluntly - will we ever fully eradicate this virus and be able to return to life before Covid-19? That question remains unanswered.
