Finnish public health authorities to consider accelerating Covid-19 booster vaccination next week, says chief physician To Hanna Nohy From the Department of Health and Welfare (THL).
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said last week that states could consider a three-month vaccination interval between the second and third dose, although the EMA’s official recommendation is still six months.
The Finnish authorities have recommended a break of at least six months between the second and third dose.
"The protective efficacy of the vaccine against severe coronavirus remains very good for at least six months, except in the very elderly and other risk groups. In that sense, 5-6 months is a very good vaccination interval for the prevention of severe Covid. However, if you want to increase your protection against Omicron-borne infections, which have been largely mild so far, a three-month vaccination interval is possible." Nohynek suggested.
He points out that there are now four million people in Finland who have received their second covid injection three or more months ago.
"There are – and will not be – four million short-term doses of vaccine available in Finland. It is therefore necessary to consider what is logistically possible where the doses and manpower of the vaccine producers are sufficient," Nohynek told Yle.
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Is Omicron needed?
While the recent Omicron variant appears to be able to circumvent vaccine protection better than the still dominant Delta variant, there has also been encouraging news about the new strain, he said.
"The diseases caused by omicron have, at least according to preliminary data, been a mild form of the disease. Up to two doses of the vaccine are likely to protect against a serious form of the disease," he said.
According to Nohynek, recent studies in the UK show that none of the nearly 600 confirmed Omicron infections had led to a serious illness requiring hospitalization.
According to Nohynek, this raises the question of whether a separate Omicron vaccine is absolutely necessary.
"Based on these results, current vaccines also provide significant protection against Omicron," he said.
According to Nohynek, up to two doses of the vaccine are likely to protect against severe forms of the disease.
Cross-vaccination makes sense
According to Nohynek, it also matters whether someone gets the same vaccine every time or not.
Tuesday EMA said that the third dose of a different Covid vaccine was given as a booster 3 to 6 months after the primary vaccination course, known as a heterologous booster, "can provide flexibility in terms of vaccination options".
According to the agency, preliminary studies show that the combination of viral vector vaccines (such as AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines) and mRNA vaccines (Pfizer or Moderna) "produces good antibodies against the Covid-19 virus and a higher T-cell response than with the same vaccine (homologous vaccine) in either a primary or booster vaccination program".
Nohynek agrees with that "Co-administration of three coronavirus vaccines with a different vaccine each time would appear to improve protection, especially after the initial dose of AstraZeneca. The protective effect is enhanced by cross-vaccination," he explained.
However, according to Nohynek, it seems that cross-vaccinations may slightly increase short-term side effects.
"These appear to be symptoms typical of the side effects of the latest vaccine. In Finland, many people have already received a cross-vaccination, as some of those who received their first dose of AstraZeneca switched to Pfizer or Moderna for a second vaccination." he said.
About 100,000 Finns – mainly those at risk – received an AstraZeneca bite before news of the rare side effects came to light.
Source: The Nordic Page