The Amsterdam UMC will start this week with an investigation to see whether for people who have undergone a corona infection up to a year ago, one vaccination is sufficient. It could potentially save hundreds of thousands of injections. The research has been lobbying for months.
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Virologist from the Amsterdam hospital Menno de Jong and also an OMT member has been trying to get a small number of vaccinations for his research from the ministry since the beginning of this year. Since the first wave, the Amsterdam UMC has been following a group of ex-corona patients for various studies. The participants in this so-called cohort will receive a Pfizer vaccine next week.
Save vaccines
De Jong hopes to be able to demonstrate that people who even a year ago were ill from corona can only get one shot. At present, it has already been decided on the basis of international research to give people who were infected up to six months ago one shot. Postponing that period even further could save hundreds of thousands of vaccines and free them up for other groups of Dutch people.
“I think it is a good thing that it already applies to the group for up to six months. Research has also been conducted elsewhere in the world. This has shown that if you give people who have been infected up to six months ago a one-time vaccination, it should be enough. This has mainly been research in healthcare workers. That is a certain group of people: relatively young and healthy. So we don’t know if it applies to everyone, ” says the virologist.
Expand advice
About 170 people participate in the research of the Amsterdam UMC. “We are going to see if the current advice of one vaccination is good for everyone who has had the infection up to six months ago. But we can also see whether this applies to people who have been ill longer ago: a year ago during the first wave. If so, the Health Council’s advice can be expanded. ”
De Jong hopes to be able to present the first results in four or five weeks. “That is also important for the vaccination strategy in the Netherlands,” he says.
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