“Oh my God, a third injection? I thought I had gotten rid of the thought and that the recall would also have been necessary, but not like this, with my breath on my neck ”. There is little to do, undergoing three anti-Covid vaccinations within seven to eight months, with all the controversies that have occurred and that still stir the scientific community, legitimately leaves room for doubt. And there are all kinds of “perplexed” ones: those who are afraid of a “stronger” reaction than the previous ones, those who consider the third sting superfluous and, therefore, unnecessarily risky, and then there are those who, trusting the first two, in the face of a virus that circulates less in Italy, feel safe. And therefore, they conclude: “What am I going to do?”.
Covid, third injection but not for everyone. And halved dosage
by Antonio Cassone * and Roberto Cauda **
But today in the meantime he tells this. That the so-called booster dose has started for the elderly over 80, which for the frail has been proceeding at a beat for over 10 days and that gradually, also given the wide availability of doses (many lots, among other things, expiring 31 December), the calls are starting for the other groups of “entitled”. And among these, there is the world of healthcare. Varied, even among doctors, nurses and technicians, he proves to be indecisive and looking for confirmation. For example in Naples, where the Asl 1 Centro has been sending the usual text message for a week. Those white coats who had completed the vaccination seven months ago and who are now being invited to undergo the second booster, that is the third dose, find it on their mobile phones. But this time the message leaves ample discretion, specifying to the recipient that “membership is voluntary, this is just an invitation. In case of absence, you can freely decide to access on dates following the open days without reservation “.
Covid, even the frail can be super-protected
by Donatella Zorzetto
If on the one hand it comforts the call to freedom of choice, on the other it proves to be a further source of concern. A bit like saying: “As an institution we give you the possibility to take the third dose. But the final decision is up to you, under your responsibility… ”. And so, many are opting for watchful waiting. Meanwhile doubts and questions assail all bands. What to do then?
Cut the bull’s head, the reassuring premise of Luigi Buonaguro, director of the complex operating unit Innovative Immunological Models “at the Pascale Cancer Institute in Naples:” 90 percent of the vaccines we administer in the various age groups are characterized by a first dose and two boosters, usually at an interval three to six months from each other. We give the children the first dose at time zero, the first booster after three months and the second, that is, the third dose, after six months. This is the vaccination scheme used in all Western countries. And this has historically been verified as the protocol aimed at obtaining the highest level of lasting response over time. Those who have already made a first recall for Covid and are about to undergo the second (third dose) should be calm because there is no data according to which more recalls create problems “.
Covid, third dose but low dose: half or a quarter of the normal one
by Giuseppe del Bello
To the anxiety and fear, we add the theme of opportunity: if we have a lot of antibodies, why take the third dose? “The history of the antibody response has no particular relevance – observes the scientist – on the other hand, for all the other vaccinations we undergo, we don’t go to check what the antibody titer is before doing the booster and, much less, before the dose initial. Why should we now behave differently in this situation ”?
But Buonaguro’s reasoning goes further, referring to everyday reality. Basically, he explains, even when vaccinated with the first and second dose, each of us can come across any infected, potentially infectious: “And this exposure to the random virus, in itself, represents a vaccine booster that stimulates the immune system. It probably happens without us even noticing it, because it is protected. But if the natural “recall” through an infected individual with the passage of the virus in the oral-pharyngeal cavity is not risky, neither is the vaccine booster. And it is a phobia out of place from an immunological point of view ”.
Third dose Covid vaccine, little evidence of a decline in immunity over time
by Valeria Pini
It could be argued that Pfizer’s case is a different mRNA vaccine. But even here, for Buonaguro, it is only a new modality which envisages to inoculate only the antigen capable of inducing the protective immune response and eliminating the dangerous factors that can cause the disease: “but this does not affect in the least. Of course, there may be individual susceptibilities, and in some very rare cases there have even been some deaths. And I would like to remind you that the most striking example is that of polio caused by vaccination, yet the millions of people saved weigh more on the scale than the few victims. The condition of those who have experienced thrombotic phenomena after the first recall is different, concludes the immunologist, because “if they are not exposed to a high risk of contagion and infections, then it is right that they should evaluate the hypothesis of the third dose together with their doctor” .
Covid vaccine, Ema: third modern dose for immunosuppressed over 12
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