W.Va. officials want COVID booster shot for all 50 and over

 The Food and Drug Administration has OKed a third COVID shot for Americans with compromised immune systems.

In West Virginia, state officials are pushing to extend those booster shots to everyone 50 and older.

With concern that immunizations lose some of their effectiveness over time, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are focused on weighing the need for booster shots of those with compromised immune systems such as organ transplant patients.

But West Virginia, which vaccinated its most vulnerable early, is pushing to expand booster shots to all West Virginians over 50 years old.

“We are pressing the CDC and the FDA to make sure that they work diligently to open up to 50 and above - all individuals - so that we can start that booster process,” James Hoyer, director of the Joint Interagency Task Force. “We know in West Virginia, even with the delta variant, 97 percent of our deaths and our hospitalizations have historically come from age 50 and above. "

It's been seven months since many nursing home patients got the shot.

Kanawha County officials said they could move ahead with the third shot as early as a Saturday drive-thru clinic scheduled at the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, but that is unlikely to happen because CDC approval would still be required after FDA action.

“CDC will hold a meeting of its advisory committee on immunization practices tomorrow to discuss this issue and offer their expert insights and recommendations,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said.

Experts said no vaccine lasts forever, but officials dealing with the pandemic in West Virginia want a broader booster target than the 3% with immunocompromised systems.

https://wchstv.com/news/local/no-greenlight-yet-but-wva-officials-want-covid-booster-shot-for-all-50-and-over