Corona booster vaccination preferably with an adapted preparation

Created: 09/20/2022, 16:31

In a decision, the Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko) has decided in favor of a corona booster vaccination with adapted preparations in certain cases.

© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa

Stiko wanted more data on the new Omikron-adapted Covid-19 preparations.

Nevertheless, the panel of experts has now passed a resolution for the updated vaccination recommendation.

Berlin - The Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko) is in favor of the preferred use of the new preparations adapted to the Omicron variant for Covid-19 booster vaccinations.

However, a fourth vaccination is still only recommended for certain groups, such as people over the age of 60, according to a Stiko statement on a draft decision.

It is not yet a final recommendation.

The draft relates to both the recently approved BA.1 vaccines and an even more recent BA.4/BA.5 vaccine.

Both elicited an improved antibody response to different omicron variants compared to previous mRNA vaccines, they said.

In addition, there were consistently good answers to the variant from the early phase of the pandemic.

Third dose still recommended for ages 12 and up

A first booster vaccination (third dose) is still recommended for people over the age of 12 - "usually 6 months after completion of the basic immunization or past infection".

The groups for which Stiko has long recommended a second booster (fourth dose) include people aged 60 and over, as well as risk patients such as immunocompromised people aged 12 and over, nursing home residents and health and care workers.

Here, too, there is usually a gap of six months from the previous vaccination or infection.

In the case of people who are particularly at risk, such as the very old and patients with a weakened immune system, it may make sense, depending on previous vaccinations and infections, to administer a fifth dose, Stiko said.

According to the Stiko decision, if there is a special indication for a booster vaccination in children aged five to eleven years, the previous vaccines that are recommended and approved for this age group should continue to be used.

New preparations are “safe and well tolerated”

According to the expert panel, people who have not been infected with Sars-CoV-2 since the end of 2021 as part of the omicron wave should benefit from a booster with an advanced vaccine.

However, anyone who has recently received a booster vaccination with the conventional preparations in accordance with the previous recommendation does not need “a separate extra vaccination dose with an adapted vaccine”.

Despite the limited study data, Stiko rates the new preparations as “safe and well tolerated”, it said.

There is a great similarity to the previous mRNA vaccines against Covid-19.

Nevertheless, the message emphasized: "Stiko expressly calls on the vaccine manufacturers to provide and publish post-marketing studies on the safety and effectiveness of the variant-adapted vaccines." dpa