Researchers believe the argument for a 3rd vaccine dose has been strengthened.
On Thursday morning, FHI director Camilla Stoltenberg said that FHI is already preparing to roll out a third vaccine dose to those under 65 years of age.
– The assessment will take place quickly, but the third doses have been approved after 6 months, so there are many under the age of 65 that are not relevant yet, she explains. NRK.
As Nettavisen has previously written, there are very many Norwegians who will end up around this 6-month limit around Christmas time. A number of studies from abroad indicate that the amount of antibodies falls significantly around that time.
Also read: Infection rates are rising – in two months Norway could be at a critical tipping point
Swedish study: The effectiveness of the vaccines is plummeting
One of the studies that is now really attracting attention comes from the University of Umeå. They have used registry data from Sweden to look at the effectiveness of different vaccines over time. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed. The aim of the study was to see if the vaccines had an effect beyond 6 months.
Their results suggest that the effectiveness of the vaccines is plummeting much faster than expected:
– Vaccine efficacy against symptomatic covid-19 decreases progressively over time in all groups, but at different rates depending on the type of vaccine. It decreases faster for men and for the elderly frail.
Also read: 19,276 fully vaccinated have become corona infected
– The effectiveness against serious illness remains high for 9 months, but not for men, the elderly frail and people with underlying diseases. This strengthens rational to offer a 3rd dose, the researchers write in their conclusion.
Big difference between vaccines
The study looked at the effect of the Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca vaccines, which have been the most important in use in Sweden. The modern vaccine generally seems to do better.
– The effectiveness against infection for Pfizer fell steadily from 92 percent 15-30 days after other doses, to 47 percent after 121-180 days. From day 211 onwards, no efficiency could be captured, they write.
– The efficiency fell somewhat more slowly for Moderna, where it falls to 59 percent from 181 days, the researchers write.
For the Astra Zeneca, those are disappointing numbers.
– The efficiency was generally lower and fell faster, without noticeable effect from day 121, the researchers write, and emphasize that the efficiency was significantly higher for those who received the mRNA vaccine as a second dose, as was given in Norway.
For serious illness, the numbers are generally better than for infection.
Agrees with Pfizer statements
Pfizer published three weeks ago preliminary results from a study on booster doses, which shows that a third dose has a strong effect 11 months after the 2nd dose. But the main reason it works so well is because the original two doses no longer do the job so well:
The booster dose given to people who have previously received two doses restored vaccine protection against covid-19 to the high levels they had after the second dose, and they had a relative vaccine effect of 95.6 percent compared to those who did not receive a booster dose. dose, they write in a message.
Doctor: – Protect them immediately
Doctor and researcher Henrik Vogt at the Center for Medical Ethics at UiO has noticed in the study.
– The infection is spreading and various measures are being discussed. But when I look at the latest research findings, it strikes me that it is probably more critically important to get the oldest and most vulnerable vaccinated with the third dose than anything else. And that fast. It seems more important than the public discourse suggests. It’s going too slowly, Vogt writes in a post on Facebook.
– It seems that the protection after full vaccination (or should we call it “double vaccination” now that dose three will be “fully vaccinated”?) Falls quite markedly over time – and especially then in the elderly and to a greater extent in older men (who have always been the most vulnerable), he points out.
Also read: The county doctor in Trøndelag worried about the spread of infection
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