Joe Biden receives COVID vaccine booster shot

US President Joe Biden received a COVID-19 booster shot Monday, the White House said in a statement.

Biden, 78, is promoting booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine as a means of defeating the pandemic. 

The White House said Biden will offer comments on the fight against COVID-19 as well when he gets his booster shot.

Why do we need booster shots?

US public health officials have recommended booster shots for people over the age of 65, people with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and obesity, and those who are considered vulnerable to infection due to their line of work or place of residence.

Only the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine has been approved for booster shots, though. Studies are still underway to determine whether people who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines should receive booster shots also.

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) said Friday it expects data on Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to be known "in the coming weeks." The Food and Drug Administration has also said not everyone needs to have a booster shot.

How many people in the US have been vaccinated?

According to CDC figures, 55% of all Americans age 12 and up or 184 million people have been fully vaccinated.

Around 64% have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

What is the controversy over booster shots?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for a moratorium on booster shots citing the need for more vaccines in the developing world. The US though has not heeded those calls but remains the largest donor of vaccines to the developing world.

Biden had also hoped to launch a mass booster shot campaign this week but with the CDC's ruling on booster shots for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson still forthcoming, that plan was put on hold.

Medical and public health experts are divided with some arguing the debate over mass booster shots has created confusion in the eyes of the public over who needs booster shots and when.

ar/rt (AFP, AP, Reuters)