Corona: How useful is a fourth vaccination?

Enlarge image

Vaccination syringe (icon image): What does the booster booster do?

Photo: McKinsey Jordan / Stocksy United

Israel is trying to slow down the spread of the omicron variant with a second booster wave. There, a fourth dose is recommended for medical staff, as well as people with immunodeficiency and anyone over 60 years of age, as well as caregivers who care for the elderly. In the meantime, around half a million people in Israel have already received the fourth dose. Prime Minister Naftali Ben speaks of a "further milestone" in the "pioneering vaccination campaign". Hungary and Denmark are already offering their population a fourth corona vaccination.

In Germany there is currently no recommendation for a fourth vaccination.

Stiko has just issued a general recommendation for the first booster vaccination for children and young people aged 12 and over.

Scientific findings show that the vaccination protection decreases over time, especially in older people and those with a weakened immune system, this can be increased again with a booster vaccination.

The fourth vaccination, i.e. the double booster, causes an increase in antibodies.

This was recently observed in an Israeli study.

However, shortly after the vaccination it falls back to the antibody level after the third vaccination.

Does that mean we need to get re-vaccinated against the coronavirus about every three to four months?

more on the subject

• Increasing number of infections: Israeli study leader doubts whether a second booster dose is necessary for everyone

• Corona virus: Stiko is in favor of corona booster vaccinations from the age of twelve

Sebastian Ulbert, vaccine researcher from the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, distinguishes between people with a healthy immune system and people with a weak immune system.

For the time being, giving a fourth dose is not an option for everyone, but primarily for older people and risk groups, as in Israel.

Christine Falk, President of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI), sees a fourth dose more for the very old.

At the moment it is also about protecting old people's homes in particular from omicron.

The immunologist reports that some people from certain groups, such as organ transplant recipients, have already had four vaccinations.

For the majority of the population, however, the booster booster does not play a role for the time being. "The normal population with a healthy immune system doesn't need the fourth vaccination," says Falk. For Ulbert, it is still unclear whether and how the effect of the third vaccination will decrease in people with a healthy immune system. According to the vaccine expert, it could also be the case that you are protected from severe corona diseases for “a lot longer”. For DGfI President Falk, the focus is currently on boosting the general population with a third vaccination in order to "get out of the winter".

For the period after that, the experts are optimistic - at least for those with a healthy immune system, if the virus does not change dramatically.

With so-called "inactive vaccines" such as the corona vaccination, the protection usually remains "relatively high for a relatively long time" at the latest after the third vaccination, says Ulbert.

The circulating antibodies could - as observed in Israel - fall, but it is also about the immunological memory, which continues to protect against serious illness, according to the expert.

Should we wait for the Omicron vaccine?

Therefore, in the case of people with a healthy immune system – in contrast to those with a weak immune system – you first have to wait and see whether they need the booster after the booster at all, explains Ulbert. The Berlin virologist Christian Drosten agrees. In the ZDF "heute journal" he said that healthy adults might not need any further boosters. The prerequisite here, too: The virus no longer mutates as much.

Does it make sense to wait for a vaccine adapted to the omicron variant? “With the omicron wave already rolling, a quick boost with the available vaccines is more important. This means that Omikron is also well protected against severe courses," says vaccine expert Ulbert. The hope of immunologists like DGfI President Falk is that Corona will undergo a “gradual transition to an endemic situation” after the winter. This would mean that the virus appears regularly regionally and most people have some immunity through vaccination or infection.

If that doesn't happen, the majority of the immune-healthy could be back in the vaccination order in the fall of 2022 with the booster-booster.

Then hopefully a refresher with an adapted vaccine will be used, says Falk.

Ideally, this gift is coupled with a vaccination against influenza.

That would mean: a visit to the doctor, two injections.

July