Fewest coronavirus antibodies in 61 to 65-year-olds
Of all vaccinated Dutch people between the ages of 61 and 65 have the fewest antibodies against the corona virus in their blood. This appears from Tuesday evening published investigation of blood bank Sanquin. Vaccinated persons aged 18 to 25 have on average almost eight times more antibodies in their blood than people in the group aged 61 to 65, according to the blood bank’s research. An older group, aged 71 to 75, also has on average twice as many antibodies in the blood, while this group was vaccinated earlier than the 61 to 65-year-olds.
Physician microbiologist Hans Zaaijer of Sanquin said on Tuesday evening in the television program On 1 that the age group of 61 to 65 years are exactly the people who have received the AstraZeneca vaccine through their GP. “It seems that this is a vaccine that produces less good and fewer antibodies than the mRNA vaccines,” he concluded.
On average, according to the institute, more antibodies are found in people who are both vaccinated and infected. According to Sanquin, the difference in the number of antibodies between the different age groups can be caused by the natural breakdown of antibodies, or a reduced immune response in older people.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been used in the Netherlands for months after it became known that in very rare cases it can cause a combination of clot formation in the veins and a reduced number of platelets. These side effects have also occurred with Janssen’s vaccine, but this drug is still used in the vaccination campaign. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) still considers both vaccines safe.
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The editors of NRC follows the latest news about the corona crisis closely. On Tuesday, concerns grew in the Netherlands about increasing numbers of infections and hospital admissions. With the possibility that these figures will prompt the cabinet to tighten up new measures next Friday, D66 decided to cancel the physical congress on Saturday.
Five hospitals in Limburg – the Laurentius Hospital, Maastricht UMC+, SJG Weert, VieCuri Medical Center and Zuyderland Medical Center – said they were already overwhelmed by the numbers of corona patients. They can no longer record additional Covid cases and warned of a “code black at the local level”.
That citizens also seem to be more often concerned about (possible) infections, is apparent from figures from the umbrella organization GGD GHOR: on Tuesday, more than 83,000 people made a test appointment for the same day. The total number of calls to the appointment line was even higher, because there were also callers who made an appointment for, for example, Wednesday or Thursday.
Governments abroad must also reflect. French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised speech on Tuesday evening: “We have not yet dealt with the pandemic.” According to him, several European countries are experiencing a fifth wave and the French health authorities are measuring alarming signals. He announced a strong new measure: people over 65 who want to keep a valid corona pass must get a third vaccination from mid-December.
Read the whole thing here blog from Tuesday 9 November back
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