WELLINGTON, Fla. — Speculation about a third COVID-19 vaccine booster shot is increasing as large numbers of people refuse the vaccine and variants continue to rise.
"The question is going to be how long do the vaccines protect you? In other words, how long is the immunity that they produce?" Dr. Larry Bush, an infectious disease specialist in Wellington, told WPTV.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said last weekend it is too early to think about a booster shot.
"Right now, given the data and the information we have, we do not need to give people a third shot," Fauci told CNN.
Medical experts, though, point out that booster shots are not uncommon in fighting many viruses.
"We found the whooping cough pertussis vaccine was not lifelong," Bush said. "Measles was not lifelong. Meningococcus we give boosters. Pneumococcus we give boosters. We get a tetanus booster every 10 years, so the concept of boosting for vaccines is not novel."
How a third shot will be made available to the public is something that many are yet talking about.
One Palm Beach County commissioner said it's too early, especially considering how much of the population still has not received the initial vaccine shots.