“4th vaccination can be offered to risk groups”

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The 4th vaccination may be offered “off label” to vulnerable groups. It may be some time before there is an official recommendation for this.

The coronavirus continues to have Austria firmly in its grip; the number of new infections is meanwhile at an elevated level. The following still applies: vaccinate and wash your hands! Those who have not yet had the third vaccination should not wait given the exploding infection figures, says virologist Monika Redlberger-Fritz in an interview with “Heute” newspaper.

“After the booster, you also have excellent protection against the symptomatic (mild) infection, which lasts about 8 to 12 weeks and then declines. After that, there is still protected against the severe infection.” According to the official immunization dashboard of the Ministry of Health, 4,748,807 people have been vaccinated three times so far.

It is not yet possible to say when the National Vaccination Committee (NIG), Redlberger-Fritz is a member, will officially recommend the fourth vaccination in Austria. However, anyone who belongs to a risk group or is professionally exposed to a high risk of infection, for example, because they have to deal with corona patients, can have the fourth prick given “off label.“ The reason: The fourth vaccination has not yet been officially approved, and accordingly, there is no official recommendation in this regard.

However, “the fourth vaccination can be offered to all those at risk of becoming seriously ill because they have cancer or are immunosuppressed or exposed to a high risk of exposure, such as hospital staff. At the moment, this is a joint decision between the patient and the doctor,” says the virologist.

Currently, the focus is still on the third vaccination and the duration of its protective effect. “There are still many people who have not yet been vaccinated three times, so we should push this group,” Redlberger-Fritz says.

To determine when the vaccination protection of the third vaccination wears off, a more extended observation period is needed than 12 to 16 weeks, where we are currently. Only when these data are available and evaluated will a fourth vaccination be tested under study conditions and, if necessary, recommended for all.