The first doses of the new bivalent vaccine studied on the Wuhan strain and Omicron 1 have already arrived in several regions and others will arrive by September for a total of 19 million. And so from Monday 12 September bookings can start on the portals of the Regions to be able to get vaccinated in the hubs that are still open, in pharmacies or in family doctors’ offices. Here is the official start of the new vaccination campaign against Covid which currently provides for “recommended” doses for certain categories.
The audience of vaccinables
First of all for the fourth doses (or second booster) to all over 60s, the frail, health workers, staff and guests of the RSA and pregnant women (those who have already taken the fourth dose this summer must therefore not do the fifth). And then opening to third doses (first booster) for all over 12 who have not yet done so and will therefore be able to take advantage of the new bivalent vaccine. The only condition for both categories is that there is a distance of at least four months from the last injection.
The exhortations of Aifa and the Ministry of Health
So far the confirmations of the first advances arrived with the circular of the Ministry of Health last Wednesday. On Friday, however, during the press conference to present the vaccination campaign there was also a clear opening to the fourth dose for all the over 12s (therefore not only for the over 60s). When asked, the director general of the Italian Medicines Agency clarified: “Bivalent vaccines are recommended for categories at risk, as written in the circular, but whoever wants to can do it”. In the same vein, the Director General of Prevention of the Ministry of Health Gianni Rezza: «For all over 12, the bivalent vaccine is authorized by the EMA and AIFA and can be done on a voluntary basis. In the next few days, more detailed indications will be given to the Regions on the modalities, compatibly with the logistical organization that must give priority to the categories at risk ».
Priority to people over 60 and frail
In practice, the priority is for the most at risk categories (over 60 and frail) and the most uncovered ones (those without a third dose), but “compatibly” with the management of the campaign, the Regions could also open to all others who want to get vaccinated. “voluntarily”. Except that at the moment the Regions do not provide this option as it appears from the booking sites as well as from the press releases published yesterday with the first indications. Indeed, more than one Region makes it known that without a precise indication from the ministry on the opening to all for the fourth dose, the administration will not be extended. So at the moment this possibility seems at least still to be clarified.
The new bivalent vaccine
Another puzzle concerns the possible arrival at the end of the month of a second bivalent vaccine, this time calibrated not only on the original strain of the virus (that of Wuhan) but also on the sub-variant Omicron 5, the one now prevalent in Italy as opposed to Omicron 1 no longer present (that of the new vaccine now available). Why not wait for this second vaccine as the US did for example? “The timing with which the booster vaccination is performed is more important than the vaccine used”, clarified the president of the Higher Health Council Franco Locatelli. He adds: “The updated vaccine against Omicron BA.1 has been shown to be able to generate a neutralizing antibody response against the BA.1 variant, but also against BA.4 and BA.5, 90% of the strains isolated in Italy . They are therefore widely useful vaccines against serious illness ».