In Europe, the way to booster vaccinations against Covid-19 has paved a little further. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued recommendations for the third syringe for the first time. Accordingly, the experts in their Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use came to the conclusion that people with a severely weakened immune system in particular can benefit from an additional dose of vaccine. These patients, who include organ transplants, can be given a third dose of the mRNA vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna. The distance to the second syringe should be at least 28 days.
The authority justified its recommendation with studies according to which people with a restricted immune system are enabled by booster doses to produce more antibodies against Sars-CoV-2. The experts said that there was no evidence that the ability to produce higher antibody titers necessarily meant comprehensive protection against Covid-19. However, it can be assumed “that the additional dose increases the protection at least in some patients”.
The EMA is somewhat more cautious about refreshments for all vaccinated persons. A booster dose could “be considered” for people aged 18 and over, it said. The time interval between the second dose should be at least six months. In this assessment, the EMA relied on data from the Biontech vaccine Comirnaty. Their evaluation showed that people between the ages of 18 and 55 develop higher antibody levels when the booster dose is administered about six months after the second injection. The EMA is currently still evaluating the data for a booster vaccination with the Moderna vaccine.
Regarding possible side effects, the European authority wrote that there is currently no known risk of inflammatory heart disease or other very rare adverse effects after booster vaccinations. This will be carefully checked. In a few cases, inflammation of the heart muscle or pericardium was observed, especially after the second dose of an mRNA vaccine. As a rule, they were mild.
Different regulations are not excluded within Europe
Benjamin Neuman, senior virologist at Texas A&M University, said the decision was in line with science. “Recent studies show that antibody levels decrease at about the same rate in young and old, and that a third shot increases antibody levels far more than two shots. The benefits of a third shot in terms of raising antibody levels seem across all age groups to be the same. “
The EMA emphasized that the decision on additional vaccination offers rests with the EU member states. Penny Ward, a pharmacist at King’s College London, expects the majority of countries to introduce booster doses for more vulnerable populations as winter approaches. However, the recommendations would probably differ in detail. What different regulations could mean when traveling to other countries, for example, cannot yet be foreseen.
In Germany, the Standing Vaccination Commission has so far only explicitly recommended booster vaccinations for people with a restricted immune system. However, the federal and state health ministers had previously agreed that, in principle, all people aged 60 and over could be offered a booster vaccination. However, people who are particularly at risk should have priority; this mainly includes people who live in care facilities. According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, more than 670,000 people have already received a booster vaccination.
Regardless of the scientific evaluation, the administration of booster shots is ethically sensitive. The World Health Organization had called for a moratorium on booster vaccinations by the end of the year. During this time, as many vaccine doses as possible should be delivered to poorer countries so that they can vaccinate at least the most vulnerable of their residents. In the poorest countries in the world, only about three percent of the population is immunized.