Receives Third Booster Dose Of COVID-19 Vaccine, President Biden Warns To Anticipate Winter Waves

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden received an updated booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, calling on citizens to receive similar doses immediately, anticipating a wave of infections in winter.

"The truth is, not enough people are receiving (booster doses). We have to change it so we can all have a safe and healthy holiday season," President Biden said before receiving the vaccine.

While on Twitter, President Biden asked the public to take advantage of vaccines to COVID-19 drugs that are provided by the government and free of charge.

"Over 20 million Americans have received the updated COVID vaccine. And today I join them. Make plans to get your chance at http://Vaccines.gov," President Biden tweeted.

"We've made the COVID vaccine free and available. We've made the test free and available. We've made Paxlovid free and available. Use it. And encourage your friends, loved ones and neighbors to use it too. It can save lives." he wrote in a separate tweet.

United States authorities last month approved Pfizer and Moderna's bivalent booster injections targeting variants of the coronavirus and the original Omicron.

More than 19.4 million people in the US over the age of 5 have received updated booster doses, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It is known that President Biden received the first vaccine on December 21, 2020, followed by the second dose on January 11, 2021. Then, he received his first booster dose in September 2021.

Due to the age requirement, President Biden received a second booster in March. However, He was still infected with COVID-19 in July.

President Biden credited the injections with ensuring he had only mild symptoms of the disease, which was treated with the prescription antiviral Paxlovid.

Separately, President Biden asked Congress to approve more than $22 billion in COVID-19 funding, which his administration had been demanding for months.

White House COVID Response Coordinator, Dr. Ashish Jha said the funding shortfall had led to a pause in the government's free rapid testing program, as well as depleted supplies of PPE for health workers.

To note, the imminent winter poses some challenges, apart from the lack of a booster campaign.

The shortage of people testing for COVID-19 and the lack of authority to update could have a grim effect when new subvariants emerge.

"We're looking at new subvariants, we're seeing an increase in hospitalizations in Europe. So we know there are some challenges ahead," said Dr. Jha.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, about 1 million people have died from the infection in the United States.