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Fauci: We need to 'wait and see' how boosters hold up before looking at fourth doses

Whether or not we will need additional doses this year of COVID-19 vaccines remains to be seen, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"If you get breakthrough infections, which we are seeing with Omicron, with the vaccine and the third dose ... and you're either asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, you may not need a fourth shot," Fauci said.

It's why he has repeatedly said the jury is out on the need for a fourth shot of mRNA doses.

"It's entirely conceivable that we might. But I think before we rush to a fourth dose, I would be careful to see what the result of the third dose is," Fauci said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president, testifies before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to examine the federal response to COVID-19 and new emerging variants, Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

He added that the only exception is for the immunocompromised, who may need the additional dose sooner.

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"But for the rest of the generally normal population, I think it's important for us to see what the durability of third dose of an mRNA and the second dose of J&J is," Fauci said.

Follow Anjalee on Twitter @AnjKhem

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