Biden Administration Plans for Vaccine Boosters, Perhaps by Fall
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Many vaccines have a recurrence schedule and if you aren't current, you aren't vaccinated for that thing. This reflects the reality of how vaccines and the immune system work.
Because of the public health situation involving it, being current with COVID-19 vaccination is perhaps more impactful for most people than, say, whether your tetanus vaccine is current, but it's conceptually the same thing.
Also how did all these people manage to get a third shot? Is that something we can just walk up and get?
No, they have not; CDC had previously said that the data did not weigh in favor of boosters yet being needed and that the priority was reaching the unvaccinated population with initial (whether one or two dose) vaccination, but that they would continue to monitor effectiveness data and evaluate the need for boosters.
The data has evolved, and boosters have already been authorized for a narrow immunocompromised population. The understanding has long been that boosters would likely be necessary if active general spread continued, though exactly how long it would take and whether spread would continue that long was not.
> Also how did all these people manage to get a third shot?
Most people who have gotten a booster are probably in booster trials; evidence of both need and effectiveness of the treatment in serving the need tend to be required for approval, even emergency authorization.
A few people may have outside of trials since the EUA for the immunocompromised, but that just came out.