The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance revealed details this Tuesday, November 23, about what people who were vaccinated abroad with Janssen, the biological of the American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, should do to receive a booster dose in Guatemala.
At a press conference, the Health authorities emphasized the importance of maintaining prevention measures, because despite the fact that “the pandemic gave a pause,” there could be a rebound in cases in the coming months, so that a third dose of the anticovid vaccine is becoming a priority and a topic of conversation.
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Therefore, the health authorities are beginning to manage the schemes that could be implemented to apply the booster doses to those who already have the complete vaccination scheme, even those who were vaccinated abroad with Janssen, a drug that is not applied in Guatemala.
“For people who have a complete program of Moderna vaccines, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V it will take 6 months (for the third dose) and people vaccinated abroad with Jonson (must wait) two months”, said the Deputy Minister Leslie Samayoa.
He added that people with a full Sputnik V scheme will receive a booster dose of AstraZeneca.
“There would be no problem because they have the same platform and to be administered they must present with their proof of vaccination with a complete schedule, but remember that priority is being given to first-line people, those aged 60 years and over and those with comorbidities” added the official.
He said that people vaccinated with Janssen abroad will receive a booster dose of AstraZeneca or a complete Sputnik V scheme.
Also read: Sputnik V doses could expire if vaccination is not increased
Those who are vaccinated in Guatemala with Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Pfizer, 6 months later will be the booster dose.
He also said that “as of December, by presenting their complete vaccination certificate and after six months have passed, they can go to any vaccination center” to apply the booster.
“Ideally, people should be registered for the third dose,” added Health Minister Francisco Coma.
We are at the systems level opening the registry for a third dose booster and the ideal is that people arrive registered, because there is a logistics for the delivery of vaccines ”, said Coma, who said that the booster vaccination will be on demand.
Study
People who received the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) covid-19 vaccine may benefit from a booster dose from Pfizer or Moderna, preliminary results of a US study published Wednesday showed.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was eagerly awaited in the United States because it looked at the possibility of “mixing” vaccines, using a different vaccine than the starting doses for the booster vaccine, which is currently not allowed in the country.
The study was conducted in 458 adults who had been vaccinated with one of the three approved brands in the United States (Pfizer, Moderna or J&J) for at least 12 weeks.
Each of these three groups was divided into three new groups to receive one of the available vaccines as a booster. The nine groups consisted of about 50 people each.
The researchers then tested the antibody levels 15 days after the booster shot.
For people initially inoculated with J&J, antibody levels were four times higher after a boost from J&J, 35 times higher after a boost from Pfizer, and 76 times higher after a boost from Moderna.
And antibody levels for those who had originally received Moderna injections were higher “regardless of the booster shot administered,” compared to those who had initially received Pfizer or J&J, according to the study.
Furthermore, “no safety concerns were identified” after the booster doses were administered.
However, the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, has several limitations. The number of participants was small and the immune response could evolve over time, beyond the 15 days observed during the study.
“It is important not to get too carried away by the findings,” tweeted Peter Hotez, a professor at Baylor College of Medicine.
The test results of a second J&J booster injection conducted by the company itself were “impressive,” he said.
The NIH study should prompt discussions by a committee of experts from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is scheduled to consider requests for booster doses from Moderna and J&J on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
A Pfizer booster has already been approved in the United States for certain populations, such as people 65 and older, adults with high-risk medical conditions, and those in jobs where they are frequently exposed to the coronavirus.
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