随着冬天的临近冠状病毒病例率白宫首席医疗顾问安东尼·福奇博士再次警告说，疫苗免疫力下降加上高度传播的德尔塔变种将造成“双重打击”，甚至会影响“接种疫苗的人”

“有些令人不安的是，如果你将社区中病毒的动态水平保持在一个较高的水平——显然最脆弱的人是未接种疫苗的人——但是当你有一种像德尔塔一样可传播的病毒时，在免疫力下降的情况下，这种动态甚至会对接种疫苗的人产生负面影响。所以这是一个双重打击，”福奇在2021年统计峰会周二下午播出的一个预先安排的采访中说。

“你会看到突破性的感染，甚至比我们现在在接种疫苗的人群中看到的还要多，”他补充道。

随着假期的临近，越来越多的人涌入室内，预示着一个家庭聚会的季节，他的严峻预测与已经响起的关于COVID再次传播的警钟齐鸣。

根据联邦数据，全国每天报告的平均新增病例已飙升至8万多例，为近一个月来的最高水平。目前有40个州显示出高传播率，住院总人数在近10周内首次增加。

福奇说，今年冬天抗击任何即将到来的病毒攻击，都取决于有多少袖子卷起来准备拍更多的照片。他说，说服大约6000万尚未接种第一剂疫苗的“顽抗者”不仅很重要，而且“我们实施加强计划的效果如何”。

福奇补充说，COVID疫苗的加强剂量可能成为“全面”疫苗接种的标准。

它是作为一个越来越多的州和地方政府已经提前了联邦监管机构的时间表，选择在所有成年人第二次注射辉瑞或Moderna疫苗至少六个月后，批准将加强注射扩大到所有成年人。

伊丽莎白·弗兰茨/路透社，文件

白宫首席医疗顾问安东尼·福奇在参议院作证.

尽管辉瑞公司上周正式要求食品药品监督管理局扩大其增强剂的授权，但目前联邦机构只建议65岁以上、有潜在健康问题或暴露风险高的人在第二次给药后至少六个月使用mRNA增强剂。

然而，所有18岁以上的强生接受者在接受第一剂后至少两个月有资格接受加强治疗。

“我碰巧相信，作为一名免疫学家和传染病患者，第三次注射增强一种mRNA是可能的——应该是实际标准疗法的一部分，在那里增强剂不是奢侈品;助推器不是附加物;福奇说:“加强剂是原始方案的一部分，所以当我们回顾这一点时，我们会看到加强剂对于最佳疫苗方案至关重要。

Fauci says 3-shot vaccine should be 'standard,' warns of winter 'double whammy'

With winter closing in andcoronavirus case ratescreeping up once again, White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning that the vaccines' waning immunity combined with the highly transmissible delta variant will make for a "double whammy" that will impact "even the vaccinated people."

"The somewhat unnerving aspect of it is that if you keep the level of dynamics of the virus in the community at a high level -- obviously the people who are most most vulnerable are the unvaccinated -- but when you have a virus as transmissible as delta, in the context of waning immunity, that dynamic is going to negatively impact even the vaccinated people. So it's a double whammy," Fauci said in a pretaped interview aired at the 2021 STAT Summit Tuesday afternoon.

"You're going to see breakthrough infections, even more so than we see now among the vaccinated," he added.

His grim prediction meets a chorus of alarm bells already being sounded about COVID's renewed spread as more people head inside as the holidays approach, heralding a season of family gatherings.

The national reported average for new cases each day has surged to more than 80,000, according to federal data -- the highest in nearly a month. Forty states are currently showing high transmission, and total hospitalizations have increased for the first time in nearly 10 weeks.

Combatting any impending viral onslaught this winter hinges on how many more sleeves roll up for more shots, Fauci said. It won't only be important to persuade the roughly 60 million "recalcitrant" people who have yet to get their first dose, but also "how well we implement a booster program," he said.

Fauci added that booster doses of the COVID vaccine may become the standard for a "full" vaccination.

It comes as agrowing roster of states and local jurisdictionshave pushed ahead of federal regulators' timeline, electing to endorse the expansion of booster shots to all adults at least six months after their second Pfizer or Moderna shot.

Though Pfizer formally asked the Food and Drug Administration to expand their booster's authorization last week, right now federal agencies only recommend the mRNA booster for people over the age of 65, have an underlying medical condition or are at high risk for exposure, at least six months after their second dose.

All Johnson & Johnson recipients over the age of 18, however, are eligible for a boost at least two months after receiving their first dose.

"I happen to believe as an immunologist and infectious disease person, that a third shot boost for an mRNA is likely -- should be part of the actual standard regimen, where a booster isn't a luxury; a booster isn't an add on; and a booster is part of what the original regimen should be -- so that when we look back on this, we're going to see that boosters are essential for an optimal vaccine regimen," Fauci said.