The less than 3% of Americans who are severely immunocompromised should be able to get an extra dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the federal government decided Thursday. People who are on medications or have diseases that suppress their immune system may not have gotten adequate protection from their earlier doses of COVID-19 vaccine and are more likely to mount a response to an additional dose, the Food and Drug Administration determined. And a study published Wednesday confirmed the benefit of a third dose among transplant patients. It's not clear how many of those infected after vaccination are transplant patients or otherwise immunocompromised, but anecdotally, doctors have reported that they make up a large percentage of those hospitalized with so-called breakthrough infections. People with weakened immune systems are also more likely to have a serious bout of COVID-19. The risk of a vaccinated transplant patient getting a breakthrough infection is 82-times higher than the general population's and their risk of hospitalization or death is 485-times greater, according to a recent study. #vaccines #covid19 #fda #health