18 leading scientists, including 2 outgoing FDA officials, say COVID-19 booster shots lack evidence and shouldn’t yet be given to the general public
Eighteen top scientists from across the world have warned against giving COVID-19 booster shots to most fully vaccinated people.
In an review published in the Lancet on Monday, the experts said that the idea of boosting immunity to reduce COVID-19 cases was “appealing.” But current evidence didn’t support “widespread use of booster vaccination” in the general population, they said, citing 93 references.
“Careful and public scrutiny of the evolving data will be needed to assure that decisions about boosting are informed by reliable science more than by politics,” the review authors said.
The group included Philip Krause and Marion Gruber, the two Food and Drug Administration officials who resigned over the Biden administration’s booster shot plan earlier in September.
The US is expected to start rolling out booster shots from September 20 to shore up immunity against the Delta variant, which has mutations that can help it avoid the immune response.