WORCESTER, Mass. - UMass Memorial Health president and CEO says we're now in a third surge of the virus.
It comes as they now know the immunity provided by the vaccine starts to decrease within a year.
Dr. Eric Dickson says they're starting to see more infections in the fully vaccinated. He says its very tight in the hospital, and the delta variant is having an impact on operations and wait times in emergency rooms across Central Massachusetts.
Dr. Dickson says they're currently offering booster shots to immunocompromised people and expects within the next few months they'll be available to the public.
"Certainly by early 2022 we would expect the boosters to start to be put in place. We are participating in a booster trial here at UMass Medical School and that will give us some data, randomization of people that were vaccinated early as part of the vaccine trial either receiving a booster or a placebo," Dr. Dickson said. "That's going to tell us just how important a booster is and when we should be giving it since we will be working with those individuals who were vaccinated longest ago."
Dr. Dickson says the number one priority should be trying to get everyone vaccinated who is eligible. He says boosters will help, and have helped in other countries like Israel.