Dr. Marty Makary:
Well, that’s exactly the problem, is that we don’t have the data to support that repeat vaccination booster strategy every year in perpetuity. If you get a hepatitis A vaccine, it’s one shot. If you get a hepatitis B or MMR, it’s two, depending on the age group.
And so the idea that you need 80 shots in your lifetime in the average lifespan of a woman for the COVID booster is a theory that’s unsubstantiated. Some have concerns. there are still people who claim vaccine injury. I have heard of people who have died from the vaccine. It’s rare, but these are questions that the public has.
And so, at the FDA, we have done our job to put out guidance in “The New England Journal of Medicine” last week. And that guidance basically says, for young, healthy individuals, we’d like to see — this is a good time to check in with a clinical trial to find whether or not we should be pushing this, because the worst thing you can do in public health is to put out an absolute universal recommendation with such urgency when the data really doesn’t support it.
And the reality is, the data is mixed.
