BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Doctors said there are new concerns that certain vaccinated immunocompromised individuals have failed to achieve adequate antibodies to COVID-19.
"There's an increasing amount of data that exists that their response to the vaccination is sub-optimal. There's also an increasing amount of data that shows that vaccinated people who land in the hospital and get more severely ill these are the individuals that's occurring with. Lastly, there's an increasing body that shows if they receive a third shot, it enhances their antibody response," Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and Chief of Infectious Disease at the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo, said.
Dr. Russo and Dr. Raul Vazquez, a physician at Urban Family Practice, said there are certain categories of immunocompromised individuals they believe will be given first priority of receiving a third dose.
"They're going to modify the emergency use authorization for that. It would be people with transplants. It'll also be people with cancer undergoing treatment, and HIV positive individuals. I think those are going to be the categories that fall into that particular area," Dr. Vazquez said.
Doctors said it'll likely be a third dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine already available.
"It could probably be the same of what we already have. I don't think they modified it at all. It'll probably just be an extra dose. Just for those individuals. It wouldn't be for people who have already been vaccinated with two shots that are healthy that don't meet that criteria," Dr. Vazquez said.
They said they don't know if a third dose of the vaccine is needed for the general public yet.
"A booster could be given to the vast majority of Americans that have been vaccinated to date, but at this point we just don't know," Dr. Russo said.
