COVID-19 vaccination: Booster shot for people with weaker immune systems being considered

…specialists to make recommendation soon – Health Minister
…WHO experts backing extra jab

A team of local and foreign experts is looking into whether people with weaker immune systems should be given an additional shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, and their findings will be known soon, says Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony.
He made this disclosure on Wednesday during his daily COVID-19 update. For context, the Health Minister explained that the makers of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine have made a case to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that after six months of taking the vaccine, the level of antibodies against the virus will decline, hence the need for a third dose.
According to Dr Anthony, the FDA has considered this and has approved a third dose for a “special category of people”. He said this group includes very old people, whose immunity might not be robust, and persons with diseases that would have caused a compromise in their immune system.
Despite weaning of the antibodies, the Health Minister advised, persons are still protected from the deadly virus “because, with any vaccine, once you use the vaccine after your second dose, you will see the antibodies’ level come down, but you will still have particular antibodies that would circulate.”
He explained that these are called memory cells, “so if they encounter the virus, they will remember it, and they will trigger an immune response. That is natural for almost every vaccine.” He added that other countries around the world have examined administering a third dose, but have not found it necessary.
In Guyana’s case, Dr. Anthony noted, a team of experts has been studying “this problem”.
“They have examined the best practices in different countries where third doses are being used, and they are going to make some recommendations for us as we move forward. We have the matter of a third dose under consideration.”

WHO recommendation
On Monday, Reuters reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that immunocompromised people be given an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine, due to their higher risk of breakthrough infections after standard immunisation.
“The Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunisation said the additional dose should be offered ‘as part of an extended primary series, since these individuals are less likely to respond adequately to vaccination following a standard primary vaccine series, and are at high risk of severe COVID-19 disease’.”

During a news briefing, WHO Vaccine Director Kate O’Brien, in referring to people with lower immunity, said the recommendation is for a third vaccination, an additional vaccination in the primary series. “And again, that is based on the evidence showing that the immunogenicity and evidence on breakthrough infections are highly disproportionately represented by those people,” she added.
The panel also recommended that people over 60 receive an additional dose of the shots made by Chinese vaccine makers Sinopharm and Sinovac some one to three months after completing their schedule, citing evidence in studies in Latin America that they perform less well over time, the Reuters article reads.
The team of experts will review all global data on booster shots in a November 11 meeting, amid questions over variants and potential waning of immunity, O’Brien said adding that some 3.5 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.
“An estimated 1.5 billion doses are available globally each month, enough to meet the target of vaccinating 40% of each country’s population by year-end, but distribution is unequal. Giving those booster doses to individuals who have already had the benefit of a primary response is like putting two life jackets on somebody and leaving others without any lifejacket. In this sense, we are talking about getting the first lifejacket onto people who have immunocompromising conditions,” said the WHO official. (G1)