State health leaders say booster shots, vaccines are the way out of the pandemic

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – State health officials say we are one step closer to fighting off COVID-19 with the Pfizer booster shot and now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved a third shot to some age groups.

“Vaccines can and will help us end this pandemic,” says Dr. Jane Kelly, a state Epidemiologist.

After much anticipation, the FDA is backing a booster shot of the Pzifer COVID-19 vaccine for people who are 65 years and older, those who are 18-64 years old at high risk of severe COVID-19 and 18-64 year old’s who work in a high exposed area that put them at high risk of serious complications of COVID-19.

This is a smaller version of the Biden Administration’s proposed plan to give booster shots all adults.

“To beat the pandemic here, we need to beat it everywhere,” says President Biden.

Currently, only those who got Pfizer for their first two doses are eligible for the Pfizer booster. Health officials across the nation are pushing for more trials with the Moderna and Johnson and Johnson vaccines.

“We want to be where people are eligible or not eligible based on which vaccine they got. I think it would be really helpful for the FDA and the CDC to put out broader guidance for a range of vaccines,” says Dr. Ashish Jah, Dean of Brown University School of Public Health.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control says their message remains the same as it has for months, making sure people get vaccinated is the next step in getting us out of the pandemic.

“COVID-19 vaccines have some of the highest efficacy rates we have ever seen among vaccines, and they are saving lives, daily,” says Dr. Kelly.

The Centers for Disease Control still have to make their recommendations on booster shots.