'There may be need for yet again another boost': Fauci on 4th Covid booster

White House Chief Medical advisor Antony Fauci hinted that there may be the need for the fourth-dose boost in the United States to battle with COVID-19 variant Omicron, adding that the booster could be based on age, as well as underlying conditions of the individual.

"There may be the need for yet again another boost -- in this case, a fourth-dose boost for an individual receiving the mRNA -- that could be based on age, as well as underlying conditions," Dr Fauci said that the White House briefing on Wednesday (local time).

Responding to reporters over the data showing the need for a shot beyond the third dose, Dr Anthony Fauci said that that's obviously an issue that has been followed very closely.

Earlier, President Biden's top medical adviser said that half a million people around the world have died of COVID-19 since the omicron variant of the coronavirus was first detected in November, terming it "the full-blown pandemic phase" of the coronavirus crisis.

On Tuesday World Health Organization said that about 1,00,000 of the deaths since omicron was declared a "variant of concern" occurred in the United States.

Speaking further, Dr Fauci said: "The data from the trials on children from six months to 24 months, as well as those from 21 months to -- up to the end of four years have been conducted by the pharmaceutical company, in this case, Pfizer."

Meanwhile, some statewide COVID-19 mask mandates in the US are coming to an end.

Previously, the White House maintained its adherence to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance encouraging mask usage in schools Monday (local time) as some states take steps toward lifting mask mandates in the classroom, CNN reported.

The CDC recommends that those who are vaccinated should "wear a mask indoors in public if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission."

According to The Washington Post, coronavirus deaths rose for the fifth consecutive week worldwide, with the 68,000 fatalities reported last week representing a 7 per cent jump from the previous week.

Last week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing that COVID deaths are increasing in many parts of the world. He warned it would be "premature for any country either to surrender or to declare victory" against the coronavirus.

"We're concerned that a narrative has taken hold in some countries that because of vaccines, and because of omicron's high transmissibility and lower severity, preventing transmission is no longer possible, and no longer necessary," he said. "Nothing could be further from the truth.