As you've probably seen by now, Pfizer—like Moderna before it—yesterday released "encouraging" data about the efficacy of booster shots. The company says administering a third dose of its vaccine six months after the second one could produce up to 10 times as many virus-fighting antibodies as a two-dose regimen alone. It plans to submit its booster shot for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency-use authorization in August.
But don't schedule your booster appointment yet.
Shortly after Pfizer released its statement, the FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a joint comment of their own. "Americans who have been fully vaccinated do not need a booster shot at this time," the statement reads. U.S. health officials, it continues, are "engaged in a science-based, rigorous process to consider whether or when a booster might be necessary. This process takes into account laboratory data, clinical trial data, and cohort data—which can include data from specific pharmaceutical companies, but does not rely on those data exclusively."
In other words: health officials want pharmaceutical companies—which have clear financial incentives to push booster shots—to slow their rolls.
It's quite possible that people in the U.S. will, someday, need booster shots. But right now, the available evidence suggests all three of the U.S.' authorized vaccines are working well and offer solid protection against COVID-19, including its newer variants, like Delta. Meanwhile, more than half of people in the U.S. (and even more people across the world) are still not fully vaccinated. The CDC and FDA's statement suggests their current priority is getting initial doses out to those who remain unprotected, not boosting the immune systems of people who already got their shots.
It's reasonable to assume that Pfizer's booster shot will get emergency-use authorization in the coming months. But even if it does, that doesn't necessarily mean health authorities will recommend it right away. So if you're already vaccinated, at least for now, you can relax.
More than 185.5 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 4 million people have died. On July 8, there were 481,535 new cases and 8,845 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 3 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded almost 33.8 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 606,000 people have died. On July 8, there were 20,061 new cases and 257 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of July 9, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The CDC is urging all U.S. schools to fully reopen this fall—whether or not they can perfectly follow the agency's own guidelines for virus prevention. The new guidance, issued earlier today, says schools should aim for at least three feet of distance between students in classrooms, but emphasizes an inability to meet that guideline shouldn't prevent them from re-opening. If schools can't ensure the three-foot-distance rule, they should use other measures—like asking unvaccinated students, teachers and staff to wear masks indoors—to reduce the risk of viral spread (vaccinated teachers and students no longer need to wear masks, per the guidelines). The CDC guidance also acknowledges the heavy toll virtual learning has taken on students and their families, and calls on schools to encourage vaccination for all children who are old enough to receive a shot.
There's now another COVID-19 variant to keep track of: Lambda, which originated in South America and has spread to almost 30 countries, including the U.S. More than 80% of COVID-19 cases sequenced in Peru since April were caused by the Lambda variant, CNBC reports, as were almost 40% of those sequenced in Argentina. Researchers are still trying to determine whether Lambda is more transmissible or resistant to vaccines than previous strains.
In positive vaccine news, two doses of Moderna's shot apparently provide almost complete protection against the Alpha and Beta variants first detected, respectively, in the U.K. and South Africa, according to a new study published in Nature Medicine. The paper didn't analyze the Moderna vaccine's performance against the newer Delta variant, but preliminary evidence suggests the currently authorized vaccines work well against that strain, too.
Americans can once again vacation in Europe, but the U.S. is keeping a stricter watch on its own borders. Most people who live in Europe's 26-country Schengen zone, as well as the U.K. and Ireland, still cannot enter the U.S. unless they're a U.S. citizen or spend two weeks in another country first. It's unclear when that policy will change. "I'm not able to put a specific time frame on it only because it will depend in large part on the course of the epidemiology," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said at a late June briefing.
The Delta variant is pushing South Africa's health care system to its breaking point—again. About 300 people are dying each day in the country of roughly 60 million, and hospitals are running out of beds and oxygen, according to CNN. Exacerbating the problem, just six out of every 100 people in South Africa have received a COVID-19 vaccine—a rate higher than the continent's average of four, but one too low to slow Delta's spread.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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