Harianjogja.com, JOGJA-The administration of a booster vaccine or a third dose to the general public has been widely discussed recently. Then, how much should the Covid-19 booster vaccine be given to the general public?
FKKMK UGM virology expert, dr. Mohamad Saifudin Hakim, MSc., PhD., said that under current conditions, Indonesia does not yet need to provide booster vaccines for the general public. However, the third dose of vaccine can be given on a limited basis to health workers (nakes).
“For the general public, there is no urgency to administer the third dose of vaccine. This is different from health workers who really need a booster vaccine because in terms of small numbers and they are fighters who are at the forefront of handling Covid-19, so they are at great risk of being exposed to Covid-19,” he explained in a release received. Harianjogja.com, Friday (3/9/2021).
According to him, the most important thing now is to increase the national vaccination coverage rate. Because until now there are still many people who have not received the vaccine.
“Currently, the general public who have received the vaccine up to the second dose are still few, only about 18 percent. So it is better to pursue vaccine coverage first for those who have not been vaccinated, especially the elderly group who are at high risk,” he explained.
In addition, the provision of booster vaccines has not been included in the WHO recommendations. Even recently, WHO asked countries to reconsider the urgency of administering a Covid-19 booster vaccine.
Furthermore, Hakim explained that from an immunological point of view, giving booster vaccines is indeed beneficial for increasing the body’s immunity, which was obtained from the previous two doses of vaccine. The booster vaccine given will retrain the body’s antibody-producing memory cells resulting from the two previous doses of the vaccine. The binding capacity of antibodies has also improved against the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19.
“Preliminary studies have shown that with either a booster vaccine or a third dose, either [platform] the same or different vaccines can strengthen the immunity obtained from the two previous vaccine doses,” he explained.
Even so, he said there are several things that need to be considered before giving the booster vaccine. First, related to decreased levels of immunity. Until now it is not clear how immunity after previous vaccine administration survives, whether there is a decrease or not. If it is true that there is a decrease then giving a booster can be considered.
Second, the effectiveness of the vaccine. The data currently available is not sufficient to determine whether there is a decrease in the effectiveness of the vaccine to prevent severe symptoms of Covid-19 in the months after the second dose and the incidence of Covid-19 in those who have received two doses of vaccination.
“Then how is the effectiveness of the vaccine against the new corona variant that is of global concern (VoC)? If there is data on the decrease in the effectiveness of the two-dose vaccine, giving a booster can be considered,” he said.
Third, the supply of vaccines globally and nationally. The policy of giving booster vaccines needs to consider the availability of vaccines globally and nationally in a country.
“If developed countries pursue the administration of dose 3 vaccines, while other countries still have not received dose 1, this could exacerbate the principle of national and global equality in access to vaccines during a pandemic.*
– .
