Message to the COVID-19 Community Corps: August 20, 2021

COVID-19 Community Corps: 

Thanks to many of you who joined us for a virtual briefing and Q&A with Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. It was an important conversation on our work to get America vaccinated and keep our communities protected. If you missed the event, no worries – you can watch it here. 

Here’s a quick recap on the briefing: 

The Administration’s top priority in COVID response has always been protecting people and their families from COVID-19 by staying ahead of the curve and letting the science, data and trends inform public health policies.  

The safe and effective vaccines are continuing to offer fully vaccinated people a high degree of protection against the worst outcomes of this virus: severe disease, hospitalization, and death, including against the widespread Delta variant. But even highly effective vaccines experience a reduction in protection over time.  

The Administration has been preparing for every scenario since Day One, including the potential need for vaccine booster shots. In order to take proactive steps to extend and optimize the protection of the vaccines, the leading public health and medical experts have worked tirelessly over the last several months to determine when that reduction in protection might come for the COVID-19 vaccines. 

In the coming weeks, we want Community Corps members like you to have the most up-to-date information to stay protected from the COVID-19 virus and keep your communities healthy. If you have questions about the vaccine boosters, please reach out to COVIDCommunityCorps@hhs.gov. 

Thanks for all you do. 

The HHS COVID-19 Community Corps Team