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Scientists warn against the risk of further variants of the coronavirus. The CEO of Pfizer says explicitly that people will need another booster dose and asks US regulators to authorize a second booster for people 65+. What do we really know about its effectiveness? How are the doctors commenting on the matter?

  1. Pfizer-BioNTech has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a second booster dose for people aged 65+, the group with the highest risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19
  2. Pfizer cited data from Israel that showed that among people who received a second booster, coronavirus infections were twice as low and rates of severe disease were four times lower
  3. Also included is an as yet peer-reviewed Israeli study of health professionals
  4. In the opinion of a geriatrician at the University of Michigan Lona Mody, we do not yet have enough data to recommend second booster doses to seniors around the world. However, the doctor does say when she would consider giving it
  5. Check your health. Just answer these questions
  6. More information can be found on the Onet homepage

“People will need a fourth dose of the vaccine”

Omicron is probably not the last variant that can “confuse” the epidemic reality, scientists believe. “If living in the COVID-19 world has taught us anything, it is that the coronavirus can surprise even the smartest public health experts,” says CNN, warning that “The new variant could easily develop and elude the protection provided by current therapies and vaccines, and this will take us back to what we knew from the onset of the 2020 pandemic.”

A few days ago, the CEO of Pfizer, Albert Bourla, made a similar statement. “To fight off the next wave of COVID-19, people will need a fourth dose of the vaccine,” he told CBS. Why? “The protection we receive from the third dose is good enough – actually quite good in the case of hospitalization and deaths”, pointed out Bourla, noting, however, that this protection “is not so good against infections” and “does not last very long” in facing a variant like the Omikron.

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Accordingly, Pfizer and BioNTech have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a second booster dose for people aged 65 and over, the group with the highest risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. The company says an additional booster dose for seniors should improve protection if given at least four months after the first booster dose.

Further part below the video.

The Atlantic monthly reminds that in the UK it has been shown that the effectiveness of the third dose of Pfizer in the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 drops from 67 to 46 percent within a few months after vaccination. “A study published in The Lancet in late February showed that blood samples from a small group of elderly people showed a sharp drop in neutralizing activity against Omicron within three and a half months of the first booster injection,” says The Atlantic. As the monthly emphasizes, “these results are expected and are not inherently disturbing”.

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Does taking another booster really help? Findings

What do we know about the effectiveness of the next booster? In a press release, Pfizer and BioNTech announce that the request for authorization to use a second booster is based on two real data sets from Israel, analyzed at a time when Omikron was widely distributed. Recall that in early January, Israel began administering the fourth dose to immunocompromised people, residents of nursing homes, all persons over the age of 60 and medical workers. Mentioned the data “showed evidence that an additional booster dose increases immunogenicity and lowers rates of confirmed infections and severe disease,” reports Pfizer-BioNTech.

The company points out that an analysis of data from the Israeli Ministry of Health showed that rates of serious COVID-19 disease “were four times lower” among those who received a second booster dose at least four months after the first booster compared to those who received one injection resembling.

The second work that was included in the application is an unreviewed study of healthy Israeli medical workers. In 154 (out of 700) participants who received a second boost at least four months after the first boost, neutralizing antibody titers increased 7-fold to 8-fold. “In addition, there was an 8-fold and a 10-fold increase in the titre of neutralizing antibodies against the Omikron variant,” says the company, pointing out that the study also did not reveal any new safety concerns after the administration of an additional booster dose of the vaccine.

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How long will this enhanced protection last? This is not known yet.

Second booster against COVID-19. What do the doctors say?

Experts do not know yet if each person will need an additional booster dose. Dr. Anna Durbin of Johns Hopkins University, however, emphasizes that it makes sense for the elderly to be vaccinated first. “We know that their immune systems are no longer working as well and that they are more likely to be severely ill,” she told NBC News.

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On the other hand, new vaccines are still being developed. University of Pennsylvania immunologist John Wherry referred to this in “The Atlantic”. The scientist pointed out that it may turn out that one of the alternative projects may be better suited to the mature immune system of a senior. However, tests will be necessary to find out.

In the opinion of a geriatrician at the University of Michigan Lona Mody, we do not yet have enough data to recommend second booster doses to seniors around the world. However, the doctor admits that if one of her patients felt that she needed him (for example, if he was attending a larger family event and not all participants would be vaccinated), she would “definitely consider it”. Experts agree that decisions about accepting another booster should be made in consultation with the doctor, taking into account whether the given senior lives alone or in a community and what his general health is.

John Wherry notes that the national immune surveillance system against COVID-19 could show if boosters actually help. By analyzing the data obtained, one could make more informed decisions about whether and when to recommend boosters to everyone. “For now, though, unless you have a particularly high risk of getting COVID-19 because of where you live or work, there’s really no rush,” he says.

We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we are talking about the war in Ukraine and the drama of our eastern neighbors. We help as much as we can, but we ourselves are full of fears. Is it possible to get rid of them? How to help, but also how to take care of yourself? You will hear about this and many others below.

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