The third dose for the elderly - as recommended by the Medical Council

He explained the decision of the Medical Council – the expert body that recommends solutions to the government in matters related to the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic – in an interview with Polish Press Agency Dr. Konstanty Szodrazinsky, one of its members.

“A lot of research confirms the fact that there is a significant decrease in the level of immunity after a period of about 8-9 months after taking the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. That is why we decided to allow people who are especially vulnerable to infection, that is, doctors, to take the third dose. In addition, We want to give this right to people who are over 60 or younger, but who have comorbidities, who have a weakened immune system response due to their age, and who are especially vulnerable in the case of the severe course of COVID-19 – said the expert.

Does the third dose work? We have data from Israel

In fact, a lot of new data has emerged in recent weeks, the analysis of which prompted the board to make just such a recommendation. The researchers studied the level of antibodies in vaccinated people, as well as the effectiveness of vaccines in everyday life – whether the frequency of severe cases increased over time after vaccination.

The most reliable data comes from Israel, which began vaccinating people over 60 with a booster dose in August. According to a study published on August 15 in The New England Journal of Medicine. 12 days after the third dose, the number of confirmed infections in this group was 11.5%. Fewer than those who received just two doses, severe COVID-19 cases were 19.5 percent. less.

On the other hand, the British data (Public Health England, the equivalent of our National Institute of Public Health, the Polish National Institute of Health, does a great analytical work) shows that in the case of the preparations Pfizer and Astra Zeneki used in the British Isles, immunity decreases mainly in the elderly Those over 65 with comorbidities (lower tweet with graph by the Financial Times showing protection from hospitalization). This decrease also applies to younger people with chronic diseases, but for the elderly it is only 60%. Efficiency in the case of the Astra Zeneka and 70 percent. In the case of Pfizer (that is, in the group of vaccinated people, the number of people requiring hospitalization by 60 and 70 percent, respectively)

In the case of Poland, the recommendation of experts to recommend a third dose for everyone over 60 years old is understandable because in our country Percentage of elderly people with comorbidities It is relatively large compared to countries with better medical care and prevention.

Miłada Jędrysik

Miłada Jędrysik – journalist, publicist. For nearly twenty years, she has been involved in Gazeta Wyburksa, has been a reporter during the conflict in the Balkans (Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo) and in Iraq, and has also been published in Tigodnik Pozcny, the quarterly magazine BOOKS. magazine to read. She was the head of the knowledge base on Culture.pl. From November 2018 to March 2020, she was the editor-in-chief of the quarterly Przekrój.


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