“The time to get the booster dose will be when there is a new variant other than Omicron,” warned the virologist
The virologist of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Margarita del Val, has indicated this Wednesday that, with the current Ómicron, “it is not necessary” a third dose for people already vaccinated who have become infected with it because for the system immune “is not necessary”, but “is valuable” for future variants.
“For those vaccinated with two doses and infected with Omicron, the time to get the third dose will be when there is a new variant other than Omicron,” Del Val warned in an interview conducted by Canal Sur Radio, where he stressed that the dose of reinforcement “is also not necessary” for the new Ómicron 2 -also known as ‘Stealth’-.
“If a new variant emerges, say PI, and vaccination against PI is recommended, then it will be interesting to assess that vaccine. For immunologists, there is currently no need for a booster dose for people who already have two doses and have been infected with Omicron or who have one dose and have been infected a couple of times », she pointed out.
In this line, the virologist has defended that the immune system “if it is vaccinated”, once it has been infected with Ómicron, “it has such a powerful immunity that it does not need an additional dose”.
Regarding the differences between Ómicron and Delta, he pointed out that the first “is a little softer”, but “it is still not entirely clear” in older populations.
However, he has warned that, while Delta “affected few vaccinated in whom it was mild”, Omicron infects “a large part of vaccinated” and that makes it “seem mild”, but in the condition in people “who yes they are of risk, those that are not vaccinated, there is a small difference between the two variants ».
On the other hand, questioned about the obligation to wear masks outdoors, she has indicated that “you have to concentrate where the air can spread more”, and that this happens “indoors”.
«The solution cannot be just ventilation, the solution is to disseminate and transmit information on the use of EPA filters, CO2 meters, to design and facilitate the design of new devices with minimized cost that can ventilate interiors, something that will serve to prevent the transmission of this and other respiratory viruses, “he indicated.
Calling her stealthy is a “mistake”
Regarding the new variant, the virologist has warned that it is not a new one as such, but rather it is a variation of Ómicron. “Its correct name would be Omicron 2”, she has indicated.
Likewise, he has described it as an “error” to call it ‘Stealthy’ because it is detected “with all the PCR waves and even better than the previous one.” “Its name comes from the fact that it cannot be typed so easily if it is one or another variant because clear biological properties have not yet been seen,” he explained.
Concluding, he reiterated that “it is perfectly detected” with PCR. “Calling it ‘Sneaky’ is a mistake, because it is just as stealthy as the other variants and you get infected under the same conditions,” she said.
Hipra can be “interesting”
Finally, asked about the fact that the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS) has authorized the phase III clinical trial of the vaccine against Covid-19 from the biotech pharmaceutical company Hipra, it has assessed that it can be an “interesting” vaccine and which has been tested as a booster for “people who have a dose of a Pfizer.”
“The vaccine has an advantage and that is that, for those people who were suspicious about modern vaccines, this is a more classic one, the usual ones, and maybe that way they will lose that suspicion,” he concluded.