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According to the National Immunization Panel, a fourth Corona vaccination is recommended only for high-risk groups. The booster should ideally be given six months after the third sting.
Waiting for a recommendation for 4th sting
The National Immunization Panel (NIG) recommends the fourth vaccination only for high-risk groups in a new assessment. This includes over-80s in general and over-65s with pre-existing conditions. According to the panel’s paper obtained by APA, they should be immunized again no earlier than four months, ideally six months after the third sting. However, all others should not be denied vaccination either.
A green passport should be valid for one year
The recommendations are significant because policymakers generally adopt them, although they are not binding. The fact that the fourth vaccination for people under 65 is explicitly not recommended probably also lays the foundation for the health minister to extend the validity of the Green Passport to one year in any case. Tens of thousands of these documents would have expired in the coming months.
The NIG notes that, according to initial data, in immunocompetent individuals, a fourth vaccination results in only temporary and short-term improved protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 disease.
However, according to the panel’s assessment, a third booster vaccination can be administered at the earliest four months, but preferably six months after primary immunization, the third vaccination, if personally requested. Individuals with a corresponding desire to be vaccinated “should not be deprived of immunization.” According to the current state of knowledge, a general recommendation for a fourth vaccination is not to be expected before the presumably subsequent infection waves in late summer/fall 2022.
Immunosuppressed or immunodeficient persons for whom the vaccination does not provide sufficient protection, e.g., as a result of chemotherapy or transplantation, represent a particular case. According to the NIG, they should be vaccinated according to their individual needs, regardless of age. The use of monoclonal antibodies as prophylaxis could be considered here.
NIG decision based on European committees
The NIG also bases its recommendations on European bodies. The European Medicines Agency and the EU health authority ECDC did not recommend the fourth vaccination for everyone in the middle of last week. However, one could be administered to people aged 80 and older.
Compulsory vaccination: concerns about data protection
Meanwhile, physicians in private practice shared the data protection concerns of ELGA GmbH, the operator of the electronic health record, regarding mandatory vaccination. The company considers the measure unfeasible and wants the data protection authority to review it. The concerns must be taken seriously in any case, stressed Johannes Steinhart, Bundeskurienobmann of the established physicians, on Tuesday in a dispatch.
- source: vienna.at/picture: pixabay.com
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