Experts at the German STIKO, the permanent vaccination commission, say that no later than the beginning of next year, residents of Germany will need to be re-vaccinated.
DW edition quotes the chairman of the commission, Thomas Mertens, from his interview with representatives of the Funke media group:
The virus will not leave us. Therefore, the current coronavirus vaccinations will not be the last. We must be prepared for the fact that next year, we may all have to refresh the vaccine.
His words are clarified by the former epidemiologist Karl Lauterbach, an expert of the Social Democratic Party of Germany on health issues, emphasizing that the immune protection after vaccination works for six months. Therefore, the date of the next vaccination must be calculated from the date of the previous one, and for some it will come in the fall.
In addition, everything will depend on the spread of new strains, from which existing drugs may become ineffective. In this case, it will be necessary to vaccinate with innovative drugs effective against them, and the timing of the second vaccination may be earlier.
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