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SAM announced on Monday that it had approached the Lithuanian Society of Infectious Diseases and the Lithuanian Society of Allergists and Clinical Immunologists for an opinion based on scientific evidence on whether it is advisable to introduce a single dose vaccine at the national level, the most appropriate is start vaccination.
According to the Ministry, if the confirmed scientific publications allow to assume that the level of antibodies does not change after the administration of two doses of the vaccine, it would allow to accelerate the vaccination of other Lithuanians.
The ministry notes that manufacturers have yet to provide data indicating that multiple doses should be vaccinated in relapsed patients.
Some of the infectologists interviewed by the tv3.lt news portal confirm that after the appearance of COVID-19, only one dose of the vaccine is needed, regardless of the manufacturer’s vaccine. At the same time, however, it is emphasized that data on the duration of naturally and artificially acquired immunity is not yet sufficient.
Among other things, although less than three months after the coronavirus infection, AstraZeneca was also publicly vaccinated by the president of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen.
The ministry is offered a more urgent job
“The situation is such that sick people are safe for several months. How many of those months, until now there is no consensus and there are all kinds of discussions, because more information still needs to be collected. But it is clear that these people are safe for at least three months.
They can be vaccinated and they certainly won’t harm anything if the vaccine remains, if it is not used, if there are opportunities, etc. So there are many ‘yes’. However, sick people can wait and get vaccinated later, and priority should be given to those who are not yet sick and are not safe ”, explained infectologist Prof. Vytautas Usonis.
The infectologist A. Ambrozaitis, for his part, pointed out that if this issue is very interesting and necessary from a scientific point of view, however, in his opinion, in this case the ministry is not addressing the issues that are needed now.
“It seems like a very irrational waste of effort, because today’s challenges are different. Our main goal today is to create immunity as soon as possible so that 60-70% have it – all human populations, whether they are sick or vaccinated.
People who get sick acquire natural acquired immunity and, when vaccinated, acquire artificial acquired immunity. But it is still herd immunity. Therefore, I really do not understand this problem: in Lithuania only 10 percent. the people received the first dose that were not sick and nobody vaccinated the sick ”, commented the professor.
The goal is to prevent the pandemic from spreading the virus.
According to him, now it is not about vaccinating the reluctant what needs to be raised, but about talking about what to do to vaccinate as many people as possible who do not have immunity.
“A fifth of those who have signed up for vaccines do not come. The question of why mayors do not vaccinate publicly is also important to curb the propaganda of neighboring countries in order to undermine the AstraZeneca vaccine. Because every time there is more data that mistrust in him is artificially caused by the Russian special services, “said A. Ambrozaitis.
According to him, the issue of vaccinating relapses can be raised in the summer, when 60-70% will be vaccinated. persons.
“Now we have to stop the spread of the pandemic, because the virus is there and will remain, but it must be controlled,” added the doctor.
In the absence of antibodies, there is not necessarily protection.
The specialist noted that, in general, there are still insufficient data on post-relapse follow-up of antibody dynamics in relapsing people.
“A sick person has immunity and we have no data on why they need to be revaccinated. Even if the antibodies are lowered after vaccination, it should not be forgotten that there is still immune memory created by T lymphocytes.
And if a person is exposed to that virus a second time, the T lymphocytes direct the B lymphocytes to produce antibodies, which triggers the so-called humoral immunity. Therefore, the fact that there are few antibodies does not mean that a person cannot fight and is repeatedly exposed to this infection, ”explained A. Ambrozaitis.
He gave an example of a hepatitis B vaccine here: Although a person’s antibodies disappear when they are vaccinated, they no longer get sick: “Cellular memory develops and you never have to vaccinate again, even if the antibodies disappear.”
A. Ambrozaitis recalled that sometimes the immunity is stronger after the disease than the artificial one after the vaccine.
“There are diseases that, once you get sick, you get immunity for life. Of course, the exception would be the flu, because the varieties change every year, so it is necessary to vaccinate every year. And what about the coronavirus, we still don’t know much, it is a new virus, “he said.
Will one dose be enough in the future?
When asked if it would be realistic for the COVID-19 vaccine to become seasonal later and only need one dose, V. Usonis suggested not making coffee grounds for now.
“We have a wide range of experiences with vaccine-borne infectious diseases. After vaccinating two measles doses of the chickenpox vaccine, a person is safe for practically a lifetime. There are those who need to be vaccinated every 10 years, such as diphtheria, tetanus. Some vaccines must be repeated every 3 years, such as tick-borne encephalitis, and the rabies vaccine must be administered after each episode. And we will not know what will happen today with the coronavirus infection, “he said.
At the same time, the doctor added that to which vaccination scheme the virus that is currently spreading would be assigned, there is already experience of what should be done in such a case.
A. Ambrozaitis agreed that only one dose of the vaccine may be needed in the future. However, at the same time he remembered that it was the second dose that was needed to ensure a longer lasting immunity.
“Phase III clinical trials, where each manufacturer involved 30-40 thousand. people showed that you get better and longer-lasting immunity after the second dose. So the second dose is a booster. For example, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the only one recommended for a single dose, but its effectiveness in protecting against serious diseases is slightly less than 85 percent.
At that time, the AstraZeneva, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are 100% capable of protection against severe forms, hospitalization and death. And that is the main goal of vaccination. So maybe two doses are better, because those manufacturers have better protection against severe forms of the vaccine, ”noted the infectologist.
For his part, AlSydas Laiškonis, a professor at LSMU, hinted that there are currently discussions in the scientific literature that one dose of a vaccine from a Pfizer manufacturer may be sufficient in the future.
“Now they are working on a vaccine for children and from what I have seen in the literature, it is said that a single dose of the vaccine can sometimes be enough,” said the infectious doctor.
According to data from the Department of Statistics on Tuesday, 5,695 people received the first dose of the vaccine on Monday, and the second, in 1966. In Lithuania, 330,000 people were vaccinated with the first dose of COVID-19. 802 people, both – 152 thousand. 938. 554.7 thousand were received to Lithuania. vaccine doses, of which 483 thousand were used. 740.
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