Coronavirus vaccination will not be offered to everyone – Dr. Strioga has listed 5 groups to recommend

According to Dr. Marius Strioga, principal investigator at the National Cancer Institute’s Immunology Laboratory, a council member, Delfi, will be offered a booster shot, but not for everyone.

“There is no talk of massive revaccination of the entire population. To this end, we can safely await the long-term follow-up results of clinical trials. But revaccination of risk groups is taken seriously. This is being done and considered for the benefit of the most vulnerable people, “Strioga explained.

Preference is given to those whose immunity is suppressed

According to the doctor, the booster vaccination will be offered mainly to people with profound immunosuppression, that is, those who are immunosuppressed due to the disease or treatment being applied.

“Patients with oncohematological diseases receiving treatment for oncohematological diseases, patients on dialysis, after an organ transplant, patients with autoimmune diseases receiving strong immunosuppressive therapy, these people should be revaccinated,” Strioga did not hesitate.

Professor Laimonas Griškevičius, a hematologist at the Santara Clinics, also spoke about the need for revaccination of the people mentioned at the Delfi rytas fair on Tuesday.

According to L. Griškevičius, a large-scale research study at the Santara clinics, which examined the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines in nearly 1,000 people with blood diseases, revealed that only about 40 percent. our patients developed strong and effective immunity

“It just came to our attention then. Approximately 40 percent had weaker immunity and 20 percent of patients did not develop immunity to the coronavirus at all. These patients were still vulnerable to infection,” recalls the professor.

According to him, one of the reasons why some people developed an inadequate immune response, or did not have one at all, was that one of the side effects of the treatment they were given was a further weakening of immunity.

“In patients who do not have a cure for remission, the response to the vaccine is poor. This response is further aggravated in patients receiving a treatment that is particularly powerful in suppressing the immune system. These patients remain unprotected from viral infection, “commented L. Griškevičius.

As the professor pointed out, several studies have shown that additional doses of the vaccine can help boost the immune response in these people.

“Therefore, these patients should be revaccinated first, with one or even two doses of the vaccine. It is likely that between a third and 50 percent. The response of these patients would improve: it would be more effective, we would find more antibodies and we would improve protection, ”said the doctor.

Vaccines can also be offered to older people.

Additional vaccination is also being considered in other risk groups. In particular, the residents of the residences.

“There will be a pilot study to look at their immune response six months after vaccination and their antibody titers, as they were among the first people to be vaccinated,” Strioga explained.

Antibody titers will also be examined by doctors who were also among the first to be vaccinated. Such a study has already been started at the Santara clinics.

“The worst thing would be for doctors to become infected again, if that immune response were inadequate. The vaccine provides less protection against infection, but the carrying of the virus is much shorter and the amount of virus particles excreted is lower, which means that the risk of infecting others is lower.

However, if that immune response turns out to fade, it would probably be the most disgusting thing. It would be bad if the infection itself started to spread the infection in hospitals. Therefore, booster vaccines are also being discussed.

This is already the case in Turkey. The UK and France have been considering doing this since September, with additional vaccinations for doctors over 50. “This should not be done by insisting on vaccination, but so that people do it consciously,” Strioga said.

Revaccination can also be offered to the elderly or people with chronic illnesses.

Where was the booster shot approved?

Strioga said the use of additional doses still required long-term follow-up clinical trial results. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EVA) have yet to release their verdict.

“Until we get there, there will likely be results and analysis from long-term follow-up clinical trials and from the FDA and EVA. It may not even be necessary to make so-called ‘off-label’ decisions, and it will be clear what they say. the official regulators in this regard.

Some countries are already taking or seriously considering revaccination without waiting for regulatory approval. Revaccination has been available in the UAE for several months and since July 1. It will also be applied in Turkey, ”said the doctor.

Some countries have already started vaccinating immunosuppressed people with a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

France was one of the first to do so.

“In France, the third dose is given to people on dialysis after an organ transplant, 4 weeks after the second, with almost three doses of vaccination,” said Dr. Striog.

Israel has also recently announced that it will also vaccinate the most vulnerable groups in society. Revaccination of these people is also planned in the UK.