Doubts about the usefulness of a fourth booster dose of covid-19 vaccine were expressed by the drug regulator of the European Union and said that there is no evidence currently available to support a fourth booster dose while the regulator continued to seek more data on the fast spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
"While the use of additional boosters can be part of contingency plans, repeated vaccinations within short intervals would not represent a sustainable long-term strategy," the European Medicines Agency's Head of Vaccines Strategy, Marco Cavaleri, told a media briefing.
Any plans of administering boosters to people every four months can hypothetically put people at risk of overloading their immune systems and potentially causing fatigue in the population, according to the concerns raised by the EMA official.
In order to decide whether a vaccine that was specifically aimed at neutralizing the Omicron variant was needed or not, there was a need about how the current vaccines are impacted by the new variant as well as a better understanding of the evolution of the current Covid-19 wave, Cavaleri also said.
"It is important that there is a good discussion around the choice of the composition of the vaccine to make sure that we have a strategy that is not just reactive ... and try to come up with an approach that will be suitable in order to prevent a future variant," he said.
The EMA said it was in contact with vaccine developers to see if an updated vaccination was needed, but that any such change would have to be coordinated.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
"While the use of additional boosters can be part of contingency plans, repeated vaccinations within short intervals would not represent a sustainable long-term strategy," the European Medicines Agency's Head of Vaccines Strategy, Marco Cavaleri, told a media briefing.
Any plans of administering boosters to people every four months can hypothetically put people at risk of overloading their immune systems and potentially causing fatigue in the population, according to the concerns raised by the EMA official.
In order to decide whether a vaccine that was specifically aimed at neutralizing the Omicron variant was needed or not, there was a need about how the current vaccines are impacted by the new variant as well as a better understanding of the evolution of the current Covid-19 wave, Cavaleri also said.
"It is important that there is a good discussion around the choice of the composition of the vaccine to make sure that we have a strategy that is not just reactive ... and try to come up with an approach that will be suitable in order to prevent a future variant," he said.
The EMA said it was in contact with vaccine developers to see if an updated vaccination was needed, but that any such change would have to be coordinated.
(Source:www.reuters.com)