STATEMENT | COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters and Increasing Global Vaccine Distribution Equity

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA—Despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advancement of COVID-19 boosters, more lives could be saved globally by vaccinating the millions of unvaccinated and highly vulnerable healthcare workers and high-risk people in low- and middle-income countries than by administering booster shots to healthy populations, says Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, president and CEO, ECRI, in a press statement issued last week. ECRI is an independent nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings globally.

As of November 1, 2021, only 3.6% of residents of low-income countries have received a single dose while other countries have fewer than 0.01 doses per 100 people.

“Even within the United States, low vaccination rates pose a critical roadblock to herd immunity that cannot be overcome with boosters. Instead, the focus should remain on vaccinating as many people as possible,” says Schabacker.

“Disproportionate vaccine distribution contributes to the emergence of virus variants in low- and middle-income countries that eventually reach the shores of high-income countries. The United States and other high-income nations must do more to equitably distribute vaccines across the world. It is in the United States’ best interest to protect vulnerable populations abroad before offering boosters that provide a potential increase in immunity to healthy people,” adds Schabacker.

For more information, read ECRI’s full Clinical Evidence Assessment, COVID-19 Vaccines: Mitigating Disease and Promoting Global Health Equity. For questions or to request an interview with Dr. Schabacker, contact Laurie Menyo, lmenyo@ecri.org.

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• Low COVID-19 vaccination rates pose a critical roadblock to herd immunity that cannot be overcome with boosters, per @SchabackerECRI @ECRI_Org

About ECRI

ECRI is an independent, nonprofit organization improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care across all healthcare settings. With a focus on patient safety, evidence-based medicine, and health technology decision solutions, ECRI is respected and trusted by healthcare leaders and agencies worldwide. Over the past fifty years, ECRI has built its reputation on integrity and disciplined rigor, with an unwavering commitment to independence and strict conflict-of-interest rules. ECRI is the only organization worldwide to conduct independent medical device evaluations, with labs located in North America and Asia Pacific.

ECRI is designated an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices PSO is a federally certified Patient Safety Organization as designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) formally became an ECRI Affiliate in 2020. Marcus Schabacker, MD, PhD, President and CEO of ECRI, has been recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a Healthcare Leader in 2021. Visit www.ecri.org and follow @ECRI_Org on Twitter.

For more information, contact:
Laurie Menyo, Director of Strategic Communications
610.825.6000 ext. 5310
lmenyo@ecri.org