Can US convince a skeptical public to get a 4th shot?

The expected green light for a second coronavirus booster shot poses a challenge to the Biden administration, which will need to work overtime to convince a public that has largely decided to move on from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Both Pfizer and Moderna have filed for emergency use authorization with the Food and Drug Administration for a fourth dose of their respective vaccines, citing evidence that protection from the third shot has decreased enough to warrant a fourth dose.

 

Yet the nation’s vaccination and booster rates have dropped to record lows, just as experts and officials are bracing for the possibility of another wave of infections from the BA.2 subvariant of omicron.

 

Federal health officials are reportedly poised to authorize a fourth dose of coronavirus vaccine for adults aged 50 and older as soon as this week. A fourth shot is already authorized for the immunocompromised.

 

But the issues that plagued the administration during the first booster campaign loom large, and officials are likely eager to avoid the same pitfalls.

 

Vaccinated Americans have largely shown they are not interested in getting a booster.

 

According to current CDC data, less than 45 percent of all adults have received a booster shot, but the number rises to about 67 percent of adults aged 65 and older.