White House Chief Medical advisor Antony Fauci hinted that there may be the need for the fourth-dose boost in the United States to battle with Covid-19 variant Omicron, adding that the booster could be based on age, as well as underlying conditions of the individual.
"There may be the need for yet again another boost -- in this case, a fourth-dose boost for an individual receiving the mRNA -- that could be based on age, as well as underlying conditions," Dr Fauci said at the White House briefing on Wednesday (local time).
Responding to reporters over the data showing the need for a shot beyond the third dose, Dr Anthony Fauci said that that's an issue that has been followed very closely. Earlier, President Biden's top medical adviser said that half a million people around the world have died of Covid-19 since the omicron variant of the coronavirus was first detected in November, terming it "the full-blown pandemic phase" of the coronavirus crisis.
Last week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing that Covid-19 deaths are increasing in many parts of the world. He warned it would be "premature for any country either to surrender or to declare victory" against the coronavirus.
"We're concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines, and because of omicron's high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible, and no longer necessary," he said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."