New indications on the use of bivalent m-Rna vaccines in the campaign against Covid-19, i.e. vaccines also adapted to the omicron variant. The Region has sent a circular to the general and health managers of the Tuscan Usl companies which takes into account and applies the directives received in turn by the Ministry of Health.
Specifically, “the use of bivalent m-RNA vaccine formulations as a second booster dose (equivalent to the fifth administration) is recommended as a priority, upon evaluation and specialist clinical judgment, to subjects with marked impairment of the immune response, due to causes related to basic pathology or pharmacological treatments, and to subjects undergoing hematopoietic or solid organ transplantation “.
This is the fifth administration because in these cases the primary cycle consists of three doses (standard cycle plus additional dose twenty-eight days apart) and can be administered at least 120 days after the first booster dose.
It will be the task of the reference centers of the specialized structures of the territorial health authorities and of the hospitals that are responsible for the management of the clinical path, to verify who falls into this case. If all the conditions indicated and foreseen are present, the reference center will call the patients directly and carry out the vaccination, starting from 3 October. Those who are followed by specialist centers outside the region can call 800.556060, the unique regional health info number, to make an appointment.
The circular “also recommends the use of bivalent vaccines, as a second booster dose, for people aged at least or over sixty, for people aged twelve and over with high frailty motivated by concomitant and pre-existing pathologies, for health workers, for guests and operators of residential structures and for pregnant women “.
Equally, bivalent vaccines are recommended as a first booster dose for all people aged twelve and over, regardless of the vaccine used for the complete primary cycle.
From 4 October to 2 pm, again in application of the indications of the Ministry of Health, the bivalent vaccines will be made available as a second booster dose for everyone, for those who want to get vaccinated and are at least twelve years old. The fourth dose can be booked through the regional portal reservavaccino.sanita.toscana.it, at least four months after the administration of the third dose.
“We must not forget what the pandemic has taught us in these two years – comments the councilor for the right to health, Simone Bezzini -. Prevention, in addition to saving lives, helps reduce the risk of overcrowding in hospitals and intensive care which creates problems not only for those who get sick with Covid but also for those suffering from other diseases that require urgent care. And getting vaccinated is part of prevention ”.