Another booster after the third dose of covid vaccine? More no than yes, judging by the opinions expressed by the experts. Current mRna vaccines ensure high protection against the Omicron variant after the third dose. Ordinary courses of vaccination have shown a progressive decline in the efficacy of vaccines. In the background, there are 500,000 fourth doses already administered in Israel. “You can’t force 50 million people to have the fourth or fifth vaccination, there has to be a strategy. There is no health system that can support the effort to vaccinate 50 million people every 4 months,” he says. Professor Andrea Crisanti at Agorà . Read also “These vaccines – he explains – have been a phenomenal contribution to stop the epidemic and allow us to lead a normal life. The limits shown by these vaccines underline the urgency to change strategy in the medium term: we need to invest and develop vaccines that have a longer duration, cost less and have an intellectual property that belongs to the states. There can be no differences between countries like the current ones, which are unacceptable “.” I can think that the administration of a possible fourth dose of the anti-Covid vaccine could be useful for people with significant frailties who, in a documented manner, did not respond to the third dose. The response of fragile categories to vaccination should be evaluated “, says Massimo Galli, former director of Infectious Diseases at the Sacco hospital in Milan, to Adnkronos Health. Countries that start administering a fourth dose will give us data earlier than the others. formations you will be able to draw suggestions. But a strategy like this, on the spot, without having other data “, according to the expert” makes no sense. “In my opinion at this moment, especially in Europe, there is no need to think about the fourth dose” Covid vaccine. “We need to complete the third dose and see what happens. We are moving towards a spring season and we must see how it will be from an epidemiological point of view “, Massimo Clementi, director of the Laboratory of Microbiology and Virology of the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, told Adnkronos Health.” the third dose, because that is important – he underlines – After which, it seems a bit premature to me to decide now to do a fourth dose with the same vaccine used so far “, he observes.” Because next winter we will most likely have to face it with a different vaccine, with a vaccine that is built on the variant that will circulate. If it’s Omicron, an Omicron vaccine. Or otherwise against the variant that will be. By now we must arrive at a flu-like logic for vaccination “, concludes the expert. Against seasonal viruses, in fact, vaccines are calibrated from season to season on the viral strains in circulation.” The fourth dose they are proposing is still on the strain of the virus originally from Wuhan, but that protein has no longer existed for a year and a half “, observes Massimo Ciccozzi, head of the Medical Statistics and Epidemiology Unit of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Campus Bio-Medico of Rome.” It is true that thank goodness the data tell us – emphasizes Ciccozzi – that with three doses that vaccine still works, but I am against having a vaccine every 4 months because – says the expert – the immune system is stressed, even the immunologist basically he knows. Why do I have to do this? Unless you offer me an updated vaccine on the Omicron and Delta variants “. The fourth dose” is not needed now “for Mauro Pistello, director of the Virology Operational Unit of the Pisan University Hospital. According to the expert there are several reasons to slow down on a new booster: “You are still vaccinating with the third dose or recovering the first ones – he explains – Furthermore, as already said by the EMA, it is necessary to monitor the effects of such close stimulation of the immune system, and then in March we would have vaccines adapted to the variants “.” Maybe – he suggests – we can think of monitoring the territory and understand if among those who are hospitalized there is an increase in immunosuppressed patients or those who are vaccinated. At that point, a new recall could be thought of to make them safe. But let’s wait “.