09/13/2021 3:31 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 09/13/2021 3:31 PM
In the midst of the debate regarding whether it is necessary to apply a
third dose
of the coronavirus vaccine to generate greater immunity, a group of experts considered that the administration of a booster
is not yet necessary
, according to an international study published this Monday in the magazine "
The Lancet
".
Specialists from five countries analyzed the results of the vaccination campaigns and concluded that the
vaccines are "highly effective against severe disease"
, even that produced by the most risky variants such as Delta.
"Even in populations with high vaccination rates,
the unvaccinated remain the leading cause of infections
," the experts wrote in the journal.
After the investigation, carried out by an international team in which scientists from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other institutions have participated, the experts affirmed that protection is higher against severe disease than against mild disease.
The experts concluded that the vaccines are "highly effective against severe disease."
Photo: Juano Tesone
According to an average of the results obtained in observational studies, current vaccination shows
an efficacy of 95%
against severe disease, both for the Delta and Alpha variants, and
80%
against infection by either of them.
The researchers stress that even if
antibodies
to the virus in vaccinated people
decrease over
time, that "
does not necessarily mean a reduction in the effectiveness
of vaccines against severe disease."
At that point, they argued that the reason could be linked to the fact that protection against the development of a virulent disease depends not only on "antibody responses, which can be short-term in some vaccines, but also on
(immune) responses. memorized cells and immunity through cells
, which generally last longer. "
"Taken as a whole, the available studies
do not provide credible evidence
that there is a substantial decline in protection
against serious disease, which is the main objective of vaccination ", emphasized one of the authors of the study, Ana María Henao-Restrepo.
Vaccine for the unvaccinated
Henao-Restrepo warned that the greatest number of lives could be saved if vaccines "are offered to people who have
an appreciable risk of becoming seriously ill
and have not yet been vaccinated."
In addition, he indicated that if there were ultimately any benefit in administering the booster vaccine, it would not exceed the
benefits of providing that initial protection to people who have not yet been inoculated.
Henao-Restrepo points out that
if vaccines are administered where they are most needed, this "could accelerate the end of the pandemic
by inhibiting the evolution of the variants."
Experts say that if booster vaccines are eventually used, the specific circumstances and population groups in which the benefits outweigh the risks will have to be identified.
In addition, they argue that a booster dose will be more useful and lasting if a preparation designed to
combat future new variants
and not current ones is administered.
Study co-author Soumya Swaminathan stressed that "although the idea of reducing the number of covid cases by increasing immunity in already vaccinated people is attractive," any decision in this regard "must be based on" scientific evidence and "weigh risks to people and society ".
Two of the article's authors, Drs. Phil Krause and Marion Gruber, are
vaccine inspectors for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
, who recently announced their resignation.
Among the other 16 authors are vaccine experts from the United States, Britain, France, South Africa and India, as well as the World Health Organization, which has called for a moratorium on booster vaccines to give priority to poor countries that they have not even received the first dose.
With information from EFE and AP
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