Two Top FDA Vaccine Regulators Are Set to Depart During a Crucial Period

Noah Weiland and Sharon LaFraniere, New York Times

Gruber and Krause were upset about the Biden administration's recent announcement that adults should get a coronavirus booster vaccination eight months after they received their second shot, according to people familiar with their thinking.

Neither believed there was enough data to justify offering booster shots yet, the people said, and both viewed the announcement, amplified by President Joe Biden, as pressure on the FDA to quickly authorize them.

They are worried about that Israeli data showing people vaccinated in January only had 16% protection left in July.

White House officials have stressed that the plan for Americans to start receiving boosters next month was uniformly endorsed by the most senior federal health officials, including Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting FDA commissioner. They have described the need to develop a booster plan as urgent in light of growing evidence that the vaccines lose potency over time — a trend that they fear suggests the vaccines' protection against severe disease and hospitalization will also soon weaken.

 Remember this graph of the Israeli data — the one that shocked the markets in July?