“Current evidence suggests that protection is somewhat diminished over time against severe effects of Covid-19 in elderly and immunocompromised individuals. Based on an analysis of emerging data, a second booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID -19 vaccine could help increase levels of protection for these higher-risk individuals,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a press release.
In December, Israel became the first country to give a fourth shot to people over 60 and immunocompromised, and research shows that “enhanced protection (vs. severe illness) can last up to three months” compared to people taking just one booster shot, Topol. , have got. wrote, adding, “It’s reasonable to expand on that and offer it as an option, as the 3rd dose has a pronounced benefit at age 50+.”
Not everyone is behind the decision to roll out a fourth jab in the US. Experts say a second booster may be warranted for people at higher risk for serious illness, including older adults. However, the benefit of an extra dose for younger people at lower risk is less clear and not as widely endorsed.
dr. Paul Offit, director of the vaccine education center at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, who is a member of a group of independent experts who advise the FDA on its vaccine decisions, thought the administration was ahead of the curve. “Where’s the evidence that someone over 50 benefits from a fourth dose? Because the evidence so far seems to support the possibility for those over 65, although I haven’t seen all the data,” Offit told DailyExpertNews. on the members of the Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Related Biological Products. “If that evidence is lacking, this recommendation shouldn’t be there,” he said.
YOU EARLY. WE ANSWER.
Q: Which vaccine offers the best protection against breakthrough infections?
In January, during the Omicron wave in the US, breakthrough infections were highest among those who received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, followed by those who received the Moderna vaccine. Those vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson injection had the lowest incidence of breakthrough infections.
But any vaccine is better than no vaccine at all. During the Delta and Omicron peaks, unvaccinated people were more than twice as likely to get infected compared to those who received Pfizer or Moderna injections. And the odds of getting Covid-19 were more than three times higher for unvaccinated people compared to those who had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
READ OF THE WEEK
Studies link Covid-19 infection with increased risk of new diabetes diagnosis
A study published this month looked at people with mild Covid-19 infections in Germany and found that they were 28% more likely to be newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes compared to people who had never been infected.
A study in the United States also found an increased incidence of diabetes in people who had recovered from Covid-19 – a 40% increase in risk at least one year after infection. The researchers estimate that about two in 100 people infected with Covid-19 will be newly diagnosed with diabetes.
This US-based study, published last week in the medical journal The Lancet, also found that even in people with little to no risk factors for diabetes, Covid-19 infection led to a 38% increased risk of developing diabetes afterward.
Biden administration to offer Covid-19 vaccines to migrants
The plan could extend to thousands of migrants found on the US’s southern border. The Department of Homeland Security will initially be able to provide up to 2,700 doses of vaccine per day, it said in a message to Congress obtained by DailyExpertNews, rising to 6,000 per day by the end of May.
Offering the Covid-19 vaccine to migrants on the US’s southern border would be an extension of what the Biden administration is already doing for migrants subject to the Trump-era “stay in Mexico” policy. Last year, top White House officials rejected a proposal to vaccinate migrants, believing it would encourage more people to come to the US, sources told DailyExpertNews. The board is now moving forward with the plan.
Shanghai forces residents into two-phase lockdown
Shanghai began its two-stage lockdown on Monday, with the eastern half of the city closing for four days of mass testing at 5 a.m. local time, and the western half on Friday. The lockdown comes as Shanghai emerged as the new epicenter of China’s worst Covid-19 outbreak in two years, with a record 3,500 cases on Sunday.
But China’s inability to control its latest outbreak so far has sparked online rumblings from frustrated citizens as questions about its zero-covid strategy break the mainstream for the first time. Some Chinese citizens now seem to think the health measures outweigh the disease itself.
TOP TIP
As Covid-19 cases fall and masks go off, flu cases rise
After almost non-existent last year, the flu is on the rise in most of the US. In 2021 there was very little flu – most likely because of the measures people were taking to fight Covid-19: wearing masks, limiting gatherings, trying to move things outside, where respiratory viruses spread less easily.
The CDC estimates there have been at least 3.1 million infections, 31,000 hospitalizations and 1,800 flu deaths this season so far.