Is a third corona vaccination safer than two? Some countries are now starting to vaccinate certain vulnerable populations a third time.
The highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading worldwide. Accordingly, the debate about a third corona vaccination is also picking up speed. According to experts, it is still too early to make a decision about such a booster vaccination. However, some countries have already begun immunizing certain vulnerable populations a third time.
Why three vaccinations?
At the beginning of July, the vaccine manufacturers Biontech and Pfizer announced that they would apply for approval for a third dose of their vaccine “in the coming weeks” in the EU and the USA, among others. According to her, two doses protect well against severe courses of Covid 19 disease for six months. Over time and with the appearance of new virus variants, however, it is to be expected that the effectiveness will decrease. Therefore, a third dose may be needed after six to twelve months.
White House medical advisor Anthony Fauci said Biontech / Pfizer’s motion was an appropriate step in preparing in good time that a refresher might become necessary. However, this should not be interpreted as if a booster vaccination was actually necessary and everyone would get it. Too many people are still not even fully vaccinated.
What do the health authorities say?
So far, the health authorities do not plan to recommend a third dose for everyone who is fully vaccinated. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) stress that it is too early to say if and when a third dose is needed. The vaccination campaigns in the various countries and recent studies have not yet provided enough data on this.
The chairman of the Corona Emergency Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO), Didier Houssin, sees it similarly. He warned that booster vaccinations could “exacerbate inequality in access to vaccines” by depriving countries of doses that were already barely able to vaccinate people for the first time.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, on the other hand, has already announced that from August all citizens who received a second vaccination at least four months ago will be able to register for a booster vaccination.
How useful is a third corona vaccination for particularly vulnerable groups?
After France, Israel also began giving third doses last week to people whose immune systems have been weakened, for example due to organ transplants, cancer or kidney failure. Both countries pointed to increasing evidence that immune-compromised patients do not develop enough antibodies after two doses of the vaccine.
French President Emmanuel Macron went a step further last week and announced booster vaccinations for high-risk groups vaccinated early this year from September. His scientific advisors referred to the first studies, according to which older people not only form fewer antibodies than young people, but they also decline more quickly.
