On the third dose of Covid vaccine to all “politics will have to be referred to what will be the scientific indications, the important thing is to be prepared when the time comes”. Thus the Undersecretary of Health Andrea Costa, guest of ‘Agorà’ on RaiTre. But what are the hypotheses in the field for the ‘booster’ dose, now administered to the immunosuppressed? Here are the words of the experts on the subject.
SON – “Today we start all over Italy with third doses, additional doses in favor of the most fragile, those with a compromised immune system, and who therefore need an additional dose. I have already had a meeting with the Minister of Health, Roberto Hope, and in the next few days the CTS will give us indications for the third dose for the over 80, the guests of the RSA and the health workers. The machine is ready, the vaccines are there and as soon as we have the green light from the CTS we will start with the dose booster “, underlined the commissioner for the Covid-19 emergency, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo during his visit to the vaccination hub in Villorba, in the Treviso area. “The scientific community is compact in saying that these categories need a third dose, then we’ll see how far we go with the other categories,” he explained.
PREGLIASCO – “At the moment the FDA has said to vaccinate fragile people with the third dose, after which we will see in the autumn-winter, where unfortunately I believe that there will be a blow from the tail of the virus and then perhaps we will have to make a universal recall. I imagine a prospect where the anti-covid vaccine will join the anti-flu one, in the same way, that of offering the annual booster especially to the people most at risk “. This was stated by virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco, Irccs Galeazzi health director of Milan, who spoke at ‘264 zoom’ on Cusano Italia TV.
“Today we are starting with the immunosuppressed, something different from what we will do in the near future in terms of recall for the people most at risk – continued Pregliasco -. We are realizing that there is a need to do a further dose. , a three-dose schedule for immunosuppressed people and the third dose can already be done 28 days after the second because it is a confirmation and reinforcement cycle. In the short term, however – he observes – it has already been decided to give a reinforcement, perhaps a periodic booster, therefore not a third dose in the strict sense, for older people, in particular those hospitalized in the rsa, for health workers, because it has been seen that these vaccines begin to lose a little after 6 months of effectiveness in preventing infection. This does not worry us too much because for coronaviruses not even the recovered are sure to remain protected “.
GALLI – “The verification must be made on people who have not responded to the vaccine and on these specific strategies must be made”. This was stated by Massimo Galli, full professor of Infectious Diseases at the State University of Milan and head physician at the Sacco hospital in the Lombard capital, guest of ‘Agorà’ on RaiTre, commenting today on the start of the third dose for immunosuppressed and frail.
The data coming from Israel on the third dose “give us a series of important information so, taking into account that it is something that is done on the over 60s, in age groups considered from 60-69 years, from 70-79 years, and in the over 80 years, the feeling is of an important recovery in those who had a response that probably was not the one desired “, highlights Galli.
“But there is no verification, which is based on the need to evaluate among these those who just did not respond to the first and who instead responded today. This verification on bone marrow transplants was carried out in France – warns the virologist – and it shows that in these patients who are among the most immunosuppressed there was an antibody response at the first dose of 4% which becomes 44% after the second and 68% after the third dose. So but there is a good percentage that does not respond own”.
MASTROIANNI – “From Israel comes a wave of optimism on the data concerning the third dose of the anti-Covid vaccine. There is an important preliminary antibody response and also the clinical data shows a reduction in the incidence of hospitalizations and infections. So we must start and then remind us that almost all vaccines require three doses. Then we should also understand how long the coverage of this additional dose will last. ” Claudio Mastroianni, director of the Infectious Diseases Department of the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome, underlines this to time.news Health.
“Even vaccinated subjects begin to get infected – continues Mastroianni – but they do not develop a serious disease. The data from Israel could tell us if the third dose is also able to block the transmission of the virus, and this could be very helpful to avoid the ‘perfect storm’ that could be generated with the arrival of seasonal flu and the permanence of Covid “.
RASI – “There is not enough data for a third dose at all, but it is fair to start with frail people, health workers and over 65. It is the indication of the FDA and will probably be that of the EMA”. So Guido Rasi, former Ema director, full professor of Microbiology in Rome Tor Vergata and consultant to General Figliuolo, in an interview in La Stampa.
On the immunity that according to some studies drops after two doses, Rasi explains that “measurable immunity drops – he explains -, an alarm to be investigated, but that’s not all. Israel has noticed a resumption of infections, but without consequences. Also in Italy there are similar signals but two doses here could be worth more thanks to the closures and the masks. And then the drop in antibodies is not the end of the immune memory. months, so the third dose doesn’t make sense before nine. “
“There is no scientifically acceptable reason – underlines Rasi – not to get vaccinated. All the fragile, sick or allergic categories can get RNA vaccines, indeed they are those who need them most”.
CARTABELLOTTA – “The data from Israel are comforting. It is reasonably certain that the vaccine” against Covid-19 “is similar to that of the flu: the duration is limited in time and the variants make it necessary to have different vaccines every year”. Thus Nino Cartabellotta, president of the Gimbe Foundation, to the microphones of the broadcast ‘Italy has awakened’ on Radio Cusano Campus.
“At the moment – he underlines – the international authorities are aiming not to exaggerate with the administration of third doses to ensure that vaccination coverage is increased in the poorest countries. There are too many discrepancies between the vaccination coverage of rich countries and that of countries. poor “and” this risks generating new variants “.
WOW – “Israel’s data” on the additional dose of the anti-Covid vaccine “are comforting, it would in fact be an additional dose that enhances our immunogenic capacity, that is to produce antibodies. It is evident that the act that the Government has made, that we share, is extremely prudential. The history of Covid has shown that the most fragile populations have been dramatically attacked by the virus. So it is right and appropriate, in a prudent way, to defend them with an additional dose of vaccine. Thus the director of the Inmi Spallanzani of Rome, Francesco Vaia, guest of ‘Che Giorno è’ on Rai Radio1, commenting on the data on the third dose carried out in Israel, published in a study.