April 26, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

“Bomb” from luminaries: two doses of vaccine are not enough to build herd immunity

Currently, the medical scientific community considers the necessary 3rd dose of the vaccine, which will first need to be given to the elderly and vulnerable groups in Greece.

The chances that a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine will be required, especially for certain populations, are increasing, experts say.

With their public statements, scientists confirm the data of a report made on July 2 by a researcher at the University of Patras, Constantinos Farsalinos, who debunked the myth about the protection of the vaccinated.

“At the beginning of winter, we will have big problems with unvaccinated elderly people and those who were vaccinated at the beginning of the year. In fact, I said a long time ago that the political leaders who were the first to get vaccinated should be careful soon, since 6 months have passed since they were vaccinated. In any case, vaccination of the population every six months is not possible. ”

Meanwhile, EKPA professor of epidemiology, Ms. Linu, is confident that a third dose will be required, mainly for the most vulnerable citizens, whose bodies have not been able to develop adequate protection against the virus through the introduction of the first two doses. “Of course, there is a group of people who have not developed antibodies, even if they were vaccinated. Elderly and immunocompromised people will be revaccinated first, ”she said.

But what about other citizens who do not belong to the vulnerable group? “For the general population, studies have not yet been completed to say for sure that immunity decreases over time. Therefore, we are waiting, ”the professor explained.

The director of the 2nd intensive care unit of the Papanikolaou hospital, Nikos Karavelos, believes that vulnerable groups will be the first to receive the 3rd dose. “The immunity wall of vaccinated people has started to weaken,” he said, adding that this is why vaccinated people will have to do “booster” (additional) doses, especially those belonging to vulnerable groups.

Stylianos Lukidis, EKPA professor of medicine and pulmonologist, is confident that another dose of the vaccine will be needed. In fact, he believes that this dose will begin in October next year. Although he did not say exactly which groups of the population are now candidates for the 3rd injection, he emphasized that medical workers must be among the first.

“We health workers need to be ahead of the vaccination process to lead by example,” he said, while simultaneously hinting at the backlash caused by mandatory vaccinations for health workers. “The word must not offend us,” he said.

Microbiology professor Alcibiades Vatopoulos commented on his opinion regarding the discussion about the administration of the 3rd dose. “Then it just caught our attention. Appropriate decisions will be made soon,” he said and added that at the moment scientists around the world are worried about the dilemma of whether the 3rd dose will be administered in Europe or the first dose in Africa.

It is worth noting that several countries are considering different scenarios for the 3rd dose. In Germany, for example, starting next month, it is planned to vaccinate citizens over 60 years old with chronic diseases.





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