The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention broke ranks with an advisory panel recommendation to align her agency with the latest announcement from the Food and Drug Administration.
The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommended booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in certain populations. Dr. Rochelle Walensky went a step further and also recommended a booster dose for those in high risk occupational and institutional settings.
MORE: Vaccinations for Younger Children on Horizon
Walensky’s recommendation followed the FDA vote in favor of Emergency Use Authorization for booster shots with the Pfizer vaccine. The decision follows the recommendation made Sept. 17 by the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
Keeping with the recommendation, the FDA approved the booster shots for select groups of individuals. Specifically, booster shots are authorized for people aged 65 and older, for individuals 18 through 64 years of age at high risk of severe COVID-19, for health care workers and for others with a high occupational or institutional risk of coronavirus exposure.
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Dr. Jane Kelly, epidemiologist with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, said she wasn’t surprised limited groups are covered by the recommendation because there’s a lack of safety data on the booster shots.
“Pfizer presented really a small number of persons who had received booster doses in their studies,” she said. “The advisory committee also raised some doubts about the value of mass boosters; do we really need boosters for everybody?”
Dr. Joshua Wyche, assistant vice president of strategic planning & pharmacy services at AU Health, agreed.
“The preponderance of evidence did not show value or benefit in a younger demographic, down to age 16,” he said. “Without that data to prove benefit over risk, they ultimately said the booster doses fit within a more immuno-compromised cohort where we are seeing disease. That is the 65 years of age and older demographic and those at high risk for COVID-19 disease, including occupational hazards such as health care workers and front-line responders.”
AU Health has announced vaccination clinics to be held at their location in the Washington Square Shopping Center.
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The clinics will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, Sept. 27 through Oct. 1. The clinics will also offer booster doses of the Pfizer vaccine for those who qualify. Appointments can be made at this website.
Vaccination issues made up one half of a survey sent on Sept. 13 to parents of students in the Aiken County school district.
The parents were asked two questions: ‘Would you support a vaccine mandate in Aiken County Public Schools?’ and ‘Would you support a mask mandate in Aiken County public schools?’
The district got responses from 11,429 parents. The overwhelming majority, 62.5% to 37.5%, voted no to mandatory vaccinations. Mandatory masks were supported also by an overwhelming majority, 65.8% said they would support a mask mandate while 34.2% said they would not.
School districts in South Carolina struggle under restrictions imposed by the state legislature. Joint resolution 704 limits the districts’ ability to offer virtual learning. Additionally, a proviso in the state budget prohibits districts from enacting a mask mandate or risk losing state funding.
On Sept. 14, members of the Board of Education approved sending a resolution to the state legislature asking it return control to local districts. The resolution was first proposed during a special meeting on Sept. 7.
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That resolution has been joined by a statement from five organizations dedicated to children in the Palmetto State.
South Carolina Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, South Carolina Association of School Nurses, South Carolina PTA, The South Carolina Education Association and Palmetto State Teachers Association are calling on Speaker of the House Jay Lucas and President of the Senate Harvey Peeler to convene a special session of the legislature to give authority over mask mandates back to local school districts.
MORE: New COVID Variant Appears in Augusta and a Milestone Reached in South Carolina
“In a moment of public health crisis, our districts should be empowered to utilize the full-range of mitigation strategies recommended by DHEC and our local health care providers. This is especially important until such time as children ages 5-11 become eligible for the vaccine that numerous state leaders have identified as the key to moving our state out of the pandemic,” reads the statement.
Last week, DHEC announced more than 21,000 students have contracted COVID-19 this school year. Another 86,000 students have missed in-person learning opportunities due to close contact quarantine protocols.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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