Photo by Mufid Majnun
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plan to convey this message to pharmacies on a conference call this week: Do not refuse fourth dose requests from immunocompromised individuals, who are looking forward to getting the shots.
Despite the fact that the larger number of Americans are not currently advised to take the fourth doses, the CDC recommends that people with compromised immune systems take the shot.
However, many immunocompromised individuals disclosed that they were not able to get the shots. This is because some hospitals and pharmacies refused, which means that these most vulnerable sectors are literally left at risk without any protection from the virus.
“A lot of pharmacies are just not understanding. They hear ‘fourth shot,’ and it just freaks them out,” said Elizabeth Nunn, who is immunocompromised and was refused by three pharmacies near her residence north of New York City.
It is vague what the detachment between the CDC and vaccine providers is about. Previously, in October, the health agency issued a statement that immunocompromised individuals must get fourth shots.
The federal agency released new guidelines on shots for the immunocompromised individuals. The announcement was covered by numerous media outlets, and they even published these updates for doctors and for the public.
Moreover, the CDC has been in contact with pharmacy groups about their fourth shot protocol for the immunocompromised since October, said CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund.
There are approximately about 7 million immunocompromised Americans, the CDC estimates; those with illnesses such as advanced HIV and also those who take immunosuppression medicines, like recipients of organ transplants and a few individuals with cancer, are included.
Studies reveal that a large number of these patients did not have a full antibody response to two or as it happens three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
An intense debate following the announcement of the agency that immunocompromised should receive fourth shots last fall sparked arguments around whether or not people in general should take third shots.