More than three million people will access the second reinforcement puncture, which will begin to be administered in May
The Ministry of Health is studying extending the fourth dose of the vaccine against covid-19 to the more than three million Spaniards over 80 years of age or who live in nursing homes. As explained to this newspaper by sources from the Vaccine Conference, the department of Carolina Darias considers it likely that this second memory shot can begin to be administered in May. Right now, 350,000 immunosuppressed people (people who have received transplants, are being treated for cancer or are over 40 with Down syndrome) have already received it.
The Vaccine Report, the body of experts from the ministry and the autonomous communities that has designed the vaccination campaign, has begun to prepare the inclusion of these two new groups in the fourth dose after receiving the endorsement of European organizations. On April 6, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) opened the door to administering the extra dose to those over 80 years of age after studying data on the oldest risk of serious disease in this age group and the protection provided by the new puncture. However, they ruled out extending it to the entire population for now, waiting to analyze new reports on its benefits.
This time, Spain is going to follow the European recommendations, although it is going to expand the cohort not only to those over 80 years of age, but also to residents in nursing homes. “80% of the users of these centers are over 80 years old and once it is decided to administer the vaccine to them, for health reasons and also to avoid internal discussions, the most reasonable thing is that all residents receive it” , they explain from the Vaccine Report.
During this week, the experts are finalizing the details of the plan and next week or the next, the Ministry of Health will make the final decision. Except for last minute changes, the forecast is that the fourth dose can begin to be supplied in these groups in the first weeks of May. Regarding the compound that will be distributed, it will most likely be one of messenger RNA and especially, of Pfizer, the most used in the vaccination campaign.
In line with the EMA and the ECDC, the Spanish experts assume that the impact of the fourth dose on the immune system is less than that of the third, but they also believe that this is a good time to administer it to the vulnerable population: Six months have passed since this group received the third dose, so that the effectiveness of the formula has decreased, while the virus in Spain continues to circulate, with the accumulated incidence in those over 60 years of age above 400 cases. “The more important the wave, the more the benefits of a new booster dose are appreciated,” they maintain from the Vaccines Conference.
Not in the general population
On the other hand, Health specialists currently rule out extending the fourth dose to more age groups, as is the case in other European countries, such as France, which vaccinates those over 60 years of age, and less so to the general population. «You have to hit the shots when necessary», they affirm forcefully from the presentation. “We know that next fall-winter, almost certainly, we will have to give another dose to the entire population. So it will be very important and we must avoid reaching that point with vaccine fatigue, “they argue.
In addition, there are other factors that invite caution when approving a fourth puncture for everyone. First, the increase in vaccine benefit when the interval between doses increases. “In the non-vulnerable population, the more time that elapses between punctures, the more effects the vaccine has. In general, it is not convenient to administer booster doses every very short time, ”they point out. And no less important is that vaccinologists hopefully await the new generation of vaccines, which could arrive in the coming months and which would be adapted to the omicron variant, the cause of the sixth wave in Spain and which represents 99.3% of new infections, according to data updated yesterday by the Center for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES).
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