The U.S. launched a campaign

to offer boosters of

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine

to millions of Americans on

Friday even as federal health

officials stressed the real

problem remains getting first

shots to the unvaccinated.

“We will not boost our

way out of this pandemic,”

warned Dr. Rochelle Walensky,

director of the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention

— even though she took

the rare step of overruling the

advice of her own expert panel

to make more people eligible

for the booster.

Th e v a s t ma j o r i t y o f

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations

are among the unvaccinated,

Walensky noted. And

all three COVID-19 vaccines

in the U.S. offer strong protection

against severe illness, hospitalization

and death despite

the extra-contagious delta variant

that caused cases to soar.

But immunity against milder

infection appears to wane

months after initial vaccination.

People anxious for another

Pf i z e r dos e los t no t ime

rolling up their sleeves after

Walensky ruled late Thursday

on who’s eligible: Americans

65 and older and others vulnerable

because of underlying

health problems or where

they work and live — once

they’re six months past their

last dose.

J e n P e c k , 5 2 , o f Ea u

Claire, Wisconsin, qualified

because of her job as an education

math and science consultant.

She was vaccinated

back in March but worries

about unknowingly picking

up and spreading an infection.

She travels between rural

schools where many students

and t e a che r s don’ t we a r

masks and the younger children

can’t yet be vaccinated.

” I d o n ‘ t w a n t t o b e

COVID Mary car rying i t

around to buildings full of

unvaccinated kiddos. I could

not live with myself if I carried

it from one building to

another. That haunts me, the

thought of that,” said Peck,

who got the extra shot first

thing Friday morning.

Health officials must clear

u p c o n f u s i o n o v e r wh o

should get a booster , and

why. For now, the booster

campaign is what Walensky

called “a first step.” It only

applies to people originally

vaccinated with shots made

by Pf izer and i t s par tner

BioNTech. Decisions on

boosters for Americans who

received Moderna or Johnson

& Johnson vaccines are still

to come.

President Joe Biden said if

you’re vaccinated, “You’re in

good shape and we’re doing

everything we can to keep it

that way, which is where the

booster comes in.” He urged

those now el igible for an

ext ra shot to “go get the

booster,” saying he’d get his

own soon — and that everyone

should be patient and

wait their turn.

Exactly who should get a

booster was a contentious

decision as CDC advisers

spent two days poring over the

evidence. Walensky endorsed

most of their choices: People

65 and older, nursing home

residents and those ages 50 to

64 who have chronic health

problems such as diabetes

should be offered one once

they’re six months past their

last Pfizer dose. Those 18 and

older with health problems can

decide for themselves if they

want a booster.