Vismita Gupta-Smith
Refresher shot. So what do you know about these third doses so far? Who may need them? And should
the world pay attention to booster shots at this stage of the pandemic? Hello and welcome to 5 Sciences. This
is Vismita Gupta Smith. I will talk to the doctor today. Catherine
O'Brien. Welcome to Catherine. Let's start with booster shots and what we know so far.
Dr. Katherine O'Brien
Well, first of all, I think it is necessary to distinguish the meaning of booster shots. What we are really talking about right now is that we need to get a third vaccination when the first two vaccinations are already over. And there are really three reasons why we might want to give additional doses. First, if you do not respond, if you are in a group of people who did not respond properly to the first two doses given, people with immunodeficiency will take a third dose. The first two do not do what is otherwise normal and healthy.
The second reason for the third dose is that the immunity achieved from the vaccine weakens, worsens, or weakens over time. And certainly, current evidence shows that vaccines work very well to protect you from serious illness, hospitalization, and even death. Therefore, there is no strong evidence that a person who has already been vaccinated needs a third dose.
The third reason for wanting a third dose is when the vaccine's performance against some of the mutant strains of concern is poor or inadequate. Again, the vaccines we currently have against the mutants and the vaccines we monitor very closely are very well tolerated against the serious end of the disease spectrum. .. In general, vaccines work very well.
Vismita Gupta Smith
Kate, are there any scenarios where a particular group of people might need to take booster shots?
Dr. Catherine O'Brien
Currently, there is some evidence that there is a small subset of people with severe immunodeficiency who do not appear to respond to the first two doses, such as those people with immunodeficiency. Only a third dose is required. But that's really because of her main reaction. That's because they didn't respond properly to the first two doses. But apart from the protection that booster doses provide to people, there are some other considerations we need to know.
Does the third dose actually increase the immune response? And we expect this to be true, based on the evidence that this is true and based on what we know about how the vaccine works. But the other question is whether those doses should be given. As mentioned earlier, the evidence for this argument is weak. There is certainly no conclusive evidence that the majority of people already vaccinated need additional vaccination. And the third issue is security.
The third dose should be monitored for safety issues and I would like to review the safety database before making such recommendations. And that evidence has been built, but we're not there yet.
Vismita Gupta Smith
But the problem remains. Does the world need to consider booster shots at this stage of the pandemic?
dr Catherine O'Brien
So now, as we said earlier, there is evidence that people are really well-held to protect your self from serious illness, hospitalization, and death. .. And that is the main purpose of the vaccine. What we are seeing is that it is really unfair about who is already receiving the first and second doses to provide protection from serious consequences in low and middle income countries. It means that you are in a better position. Percentages, 2% and 5% of the population already vaccinated.
And that is compared to the fact that many vaccines have been used in high-income and middle-income countries. Therefore, the focus of care must now be to protect people who are not yet protected by the vaccine. It will reduce infections, reduce the likelihood of more mutants appearing, and give time to see more evidence as to whether booster doses will eventually be needed. As vaccination rates increase, no one is safe until we all have the opportunity to be vaccinated to protect against the virus.
And that really means getting doses to those parts of the world that weren't adequately supplied. In doing so, it is very important to continue with other measures to reduce virus infection. This includes wearing a mask, washing your hands, avoiding crowds indoors, and staying in a well-ventilated area. These, along with vaccines, protect you from both illness and viral infections.
And that's all. This is the end of this pandemic.
VismitaGupta-Smith
Thank you Kate That was today's five sciences. Stay healthy and stick to science until the next time.
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