Third dose, Abrignani: “Everyone will be the decisive answer”

“Vaccination coverage with” the third dose of Covid vaccine “on the entire population will constitute a decisive response to the pandemic”. However “this does not mean that there will be no more recalls: even for other viruses, such as that of hepatitis B, after a few years it is necessary to do a new administration, but it will presumably be destined for the long term”. This was underlined by the immunologist Sergio Abrignani, full professor of General Pathology at the State University of Milan and member of the Scientific Technical Committee for the coronavirus emergency, on the occasion of the eighth biennial Amit-Argomenti International Congress of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (Milan, 15-16 September), according to statements reported in a note from the promoters of the event. “Most vaccines need 3 doses, so now we’re just using the old vaccination rule,” explains Abrignani. “All our children – he remembers – are vaccinated against numerous pathologies such as diphtheria, pneumococcus, hepatitis B, tetanus, meningococcus B, polio, always with 3 doses. The third dose is usually performed 6-8 months after the second: it is the classic procedure for a subject who has never come into contact with a specific microorganism. The case of the flu is different, the virus of which changes radically every year. The only vaccines that do not need 3 doses are those based on live attenuated viruses, such as the old vaccines for smallpox and polio, or those we use today for mumps, measles, rubella, which replicate the virus without causing disease. All other vaccines are based on a 3-dose mechanism: the first 2 are used to trigger the response, the third prolongs the immune memory and generates a response even in the most fragile subjects “. Against Sars-CoV-2, “the administration of the third dose starts only now – highlights the immunologist – because previously there was an urgency to complete a first immunization as quickly as possible to stem the spread of the virus”. “Without vaccines we have traveled to the sad average of 15-18 thousand deaths per month – recalls Abrignani – It was urgent to develop vaccines that worked immediately, despite it being known that over the months the immune response would decrease. MRNA vaccines have been a revolution that has allowed us to have a safe and effective tool in a short time “. “IN 2022 VACCINE ALSO TO CHILDREN 0-11 YEARS OLD” – “It will soon be possible to extend the” anti-Covid “vaccination also to under 12. We are awaiting the results of the clinical trials for registration, which should arrive between October and December for Pfizer and Moderna. So realistically next year we will be able to start vaccinating even children between 0 and 11 years old, based on the political decisions that will be made “, says the immunologist.