Pfizer Developing Covid Booster against the Delta Strain

Pfizer and BioNTech revealed that it is Developing a Covid booster against the highly mutant Delta variant, becoming the most dominant strain in America. The companies stated that even though the third shot of the current two doses is efficient to fight against the Delta variant, the companies are Developing an updated version of the vaccine. Clinical studies may begin in early August, after the regulatory approvals.The Delta variant first found in India is now rapidly spreading across other countries. According to the CDC findings, 51.7% of covid-19 cases are found to be infected by the Delta variant in the US over the next two weeks.

According to the Israel Ministry of Health, the Delta variant is becoming dominant in U.S. But, the efficiency of the vaccine after the shots declines after six months, the ministry stated. Its prevalence in the U.S is doubling every two weeks. The health experts are also worried that the new variant will hardly hit high records infecting unvaccinated people.

The ministry stated that the states which have lower vaccination rates had reported increased delta variant cases, including the states like Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama. Although the variant is highly mutant and infectious, many vaccines have been shown to prevent death and hospitalizations due to the variant.

The U.S President Joe Biden urged all the eligible U.S people to get vaccinated, emphasizing on being protected against the new strain. As a result, the U.S reached the highest vaccination rate in April. However, the rate of vaccination has dropped recently.  The President had set a goal in May that 70% of U.S adults get at least the first dose of vaccine by July 4. However, only 18 states, including Washington, reached the target.