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WASHINGTON — The Biden administration does not plan to recommend a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine anytime soon, although new federal data suggests the effectiveness of booster shots wanes after about four months.

“We don’t have enough data to know it’s a good thing to do” Head of the Food and Drug Administration’s division of vaccines, Dr. Peter Marks said in an interview this week.

In a separate interview, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony S. Fauci said that despite data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that vaccines are losing some, vaccines are still a solid bulwark against serious diseases. strength after four to five months.

CDC’s researchpublished last friday, It analyzed hospitalizations and visits to emergency rooms and emergency care clinics for people who had repeated their Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in 10 states. The study showed that the level of protection against hospitalization dropped from 91 percent within two months of the third shot to 78 percent after four to five months. Efficiency versus visits to emergency departments or urgent care clinics dropped from 87 percent to 66 percent.

The data came with important caveats: The researchers did not examine variations by age group, underlying medical conditions, or the presence of immune deficiencies. Still, they said the findings underscore the possible importance of a fourth shot.

“’Should I take a fourth shot?’ A lot of people ask me that,” said Dr. faucet “ the answer is if you look at where we are right now, It seems so good protection Seventy-eight percent is good.”

The administration’s vaccine strategy has been under constant review since President Biden took office. Dr. What happens next will depend on whether the protection against boosters remains stable or continues to drop after four to five months — and if it continues to drop, how steep, Fauci said.

“It’s not just the number, it’s the bending of the curve,” he said.

That means more uncertainty for Americans, who are weary of the frequent changes to vaccine recommendations – pivots that have been challenged in large part by the introduction of new variants. President of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Dr. Sterling Ransone said her patients continue to ask if a fourth vaccine is needed, and if so, when.

“Frustrating, isn’t it?” Va, practicing in a small town called Deltaville, Dr. “We humans want some certainty and control of the situation,” Ransone said. And this is a situation where we don’t know what will happen in the future. We don’t know the exact recommendation.”

In Bangor, Maine, leading the Covid response for Northern Light Health, a local healthcare system, Dr. James W. Jarvis said he emphasized to his patients how well the vaccines work, even if boosters are needed. While they don’t offer full protection, “the latest data really shows that these vaccines still do a good job,” he said.

Data from the UK are similar to those from the CDC, showing that the supplements are around 75 percent to 85 percent effective against hospitalization four to six months after they are given. Israel also noted that the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine decreased in the months after a booster shot, according to the CDC.

Israel began offering a fourth vaccine in late December, but that’s only to healthcare workers. The CDC recommended that those with immunodeficiency get three shots as part of their first series, followed by a fourth shot as a booster.

Biden administration officials say two-thirds of eligible adults have received booster vaccinations since additional injections were allowed in November. Uptake was slower among children over 12 years of age, who only became available in early January.

Dr. Marks said the best time for an additional vaccine could be this fall, when the spread of the coronavirus is expected to resume. “To avoid any surprises from the new variants, perhaps the best thing would be to consider our strategy of supplementation with the flu shot next fall and empower as many people as possible at the time,” he said.

Dr. Ransone said he would prefer this as some of his patients can get their vaccines in a single visit.

At a session held last month by FDA and University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Marks said he hopes a third shot will be a sufficient shield against the disease that will only need an annual Covid booster. However, both he and Dr. Without more data, it’s impossible to make any predictions, Fauci said.

Earlier this month, Dr. Fauci suggested: That any advice would likely be geared towards those most at risk, depending on age and underlying conditions.

“If you do, I don’t think you’re going to hear any advice that would apply to everyone,” he said at the White House briefing. “Most likely, it will take into account which subset of people is protected against important parameters such as hospitalization.”

kitty bennett contributed to research.