From 20 September, Phase three of the vaccination campaign was launched in the Lombardy Region, and therefore also in the ATS territory of the Po Valley, which involves the administration of the third dose of the anti Covid-19 vaccine for the most at-risk patients; in particular, the administration of the additional dose has begun – which completes the primary vaccination cycle after at least 28 days from the 2nd dose – for transplanted and immunocompromised subjects, pathologies specified in a specific note from the Ministry of Health. From Monday 4 October the third dose of the booster vaccine is being administered, proposed in this phase both to citizens over eighty who have already completed the vaccination cycle for at least 6 months, and to guests and operators of the RSA.
From a very recent study conducted in Israel, where the administration of third doses is at an advanced stage and therefore the first significant evidence on its effect is available, it emerges that with a third dose it would bring the efficacy of the vaccine to about 95%. protection even with respect to the Delta variant.
The ATS of the Po Valley and the ASSTs of Crema and Cremona have consulted on the subject some specialists and family doctors operating in the area, in order to raise awareness and inform citizens on the importance of this new phase of the vaccination campaign and to promote their membership; we asked them, in particular, why it is really so important to receive the third dose.
Gianluca Fasoli, Acting Director of the Nephrology and Dialysis Operating Unit and Maurizio Grassi, Director of the Oncology Operating Unit – ASST of Crema.
“Our wards are attended by patients with severe impairment of the immune system, for the pathologies they are suffering from and for the consequent treatments. The scientific evidence shows that these patients benefit from an additional dose of vaccine, to complete the primary vaccination cycle. The onco-haematological, nephrological and organ transplant patients belonging to our operating units have accepted without reservation our advice to undergo the additional dose of vaccine. Membership, thanks also to the availability of the vaccination hub and the hospital pharmacy, made it possible to vaccinate the almost total population of patients in our care. The vaccination was well tolerated and we did not detect particular clinical problems on our patients, who regularly continued the treatments in place. For greater protection of our users, we health professionals dedicated to the treatment of these diseases have already given our willingness to be vaccinated with the third dose of vaccine. “
Rodolfo Passalacqua, Director of the Oncology Department – ASST of Cremona.
“The amount of antibodies produced by anti-Covid19 vaccines tends to decrease significantly after six months from the second dose. This decrease is more marked in elderly patients and in patients with chronic or immunosuppressive diseases. For this reason it is necessary to administer a further dose (third dose) of the vaccine to people who are in a fragile condition. This will help bring the antibody titer back up in the blood and stay protected from the virus. “
Paola Pecchini, Head of Dialysis – ASST of Cremona.
“In the case of SARS-CoV2 disease, the risk of mortality in dialysis and transplant patients is per se much higher than in the general population. There are also two aspects that absolutely must not be neglected: the first is that hemodialysis patients, attending the hospital environment to perform the therapies, come into contact with other users and with healthcare personnel, thus exposing themselves to a
greater risk of contagion. The second aspect, which concerns transplant patients, is that their immunosuppressive condition can affect the antibody response of the two doses of the vaccine. Therefore, considering the scientific evidence, the administration of an additional dose is the only way to improve the efficacy of the vaccine and therefore protect oneself from the virus. “
Angelo Pan, Director of Infectious Diseases – ASST of Cremona.
“The third vaccine represents another step towards the end of the pandemic. We are all very tired of living this condition and the only way to get out of it, it must be reiterated, is to get vaccinated. In patients with certain chronic diseases, particularly in dialysis patients and transplant recipients, the defenses often function imperfectly. The protection against Covid-19 given by the vaccine could progressively be reduced, to the point of making an infection possible. The third dose, by still stimulating the defenses against the virus, can allow us to protect ourselves longer and better from this dangerous infection. “
Fabio Calvi, General Practitioner in Rivolta d’Adda.
“Why do we need to get vaccinated against the Coronavirus for the third time? I could say that it is a responsible, necessary choice, but in reality there is only one reason, valid and difficult to deny: only by vaccinating ourselves can we try to keep a virus at bay that even now, almost two years after its appearance, it is claiming victims and creating serious problems, not just health problems, for all of us. The first to accept this invitation are the people most at risk, that is, those with advanced age or chronic diseases. They, even if apparently in excellent health, are the ones who would most easily pay the most serious consequences in case of contagion. We family doctors see it every day. Get vaccinated, listen to us. The vaccine works, it has undoubtedly reduced the risks of serious illness, the third dose makes sense for everyone, but especially for those who are already in an advanced age group or in critical clinical conditions. “
Francesco Crea, General Practitioner in Soresina (President of the Cooperative of Territorial Medicine and Councilor of the Order of Surgeons and Dentists of Cremona).
“As with the seasonal flu vaccination campaign, our oldest and most frail patients are among the categories most at risk and for this reason it is necessary to provide their vaccination first and foremost. The administration of the third dose should be considered as a booster in fact it is proposed at the end of a first vaccination cycle. The aim is to prolong the antibody defense over time, in order to avoid the risk of infection due to loss or in any case decrease in the immunization status, with possible serious consequences for health in a cohort of population already at risk due to the personal data alone which often occurs. associates with the presence of comorbidities. So at this stage it is necessary to repeat what we have already done in the emergency, that is to offer the anti Covid-19 vaccination primarily to the elderly (over 80) and fragile patients, and then extend it to the rest of the population. “
“We invite our immunocompromised and over 80-year-old patients to join the initiative immediately – he concludes Silvana Cirincione, Health Director of ATS of the Po Valley – so as to complete and strengthen one’s antibody response and thus increase the ability to defend against Sars-CoV-2 virus infection. “
“Beyond the progressive extension of the vaccination campaign, in implementation of the latest indications of the Ministry of Health, in this phase of the pandemic it is essential that the people to whom the invitation to the third dose of completion of the vaccination cycle or to the dose appeal, fully understand its importance and adhere to it with conviction ”, he underlines Salvatore Mannino, General Manager of the ATS. “The number of those who present themselves in the various vaccination centers is still limited compared to the pool of potential beneficiaries and the capacity of places in the agendas dedicated to them. The feeling is that everyone (directly concerned, their family members or caregivers, treating doctors and health professionals in general) needs a qualitative leap in the awareness of the importance of an additional dose of vaccine to consolidate the ability to respond to SARS-CoV-2, in the categories for which it is indicated: a collective effort to relaunch the vaccination campaign, with a view to renewed confidence in the scientific world and in health and regulatory authorities “.
WHO CAN BOOK
Citizens over 80 (including those born in 1941) who have already completed the primary vaccination course for at least 6 months
Immunocompromised citizens who have already completed the primary vaccination course for at least 28 days in the following conditions:
§ solid organ transplant in immunosuppressive therapy;
§ hematopoietic stem cell transplantation;
§ waiting for organ transplant;
§ therapies based on T cells expressing an antigenic chemical receptor (CART cells);
§ oncological or onco-haematological pathology under treatment with immunosuppressive or myelosuppressive drugs or less than 6 months after the suspension of treatment;
§ immunodeficienze primitive;
§ secondary immunodeficiencies to drug treatment;
§ dialysis and severe chronic renal failure;
§ previous splenectomy;
§ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
HOW TO BOOK
The channels for booking are: ü Online, by connecting to the portal https://prenotazionevaccinicovid.regione.lombardia.it/
ü Ai Postamat (at one of the many ATMs of the Italian Post Office);
ü With the Postman (The postman can make a reservation for the Anti Covid-19 vaccine);
ü By calling the dedicated Call Center on the toll-free number 800 894 545;
WHERE TO GET VACCINATED
ASST OF CREMONA
Cremona, at the Covid Sapiens Vaccinal Center (Via Adelio Stefanoni, 1 – Costa Sant’Abramo Castelverde)
Casalmaggiore, Centro Vaccinale Covid Casalmaggiore c / o Avis (Via Baslenga, 3/5)
CREAM ASST
· Crema – Former Court Vaccination Center (Via Macallè, 11 / C).
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