Third dose, Ricciardi: “Recall will be for everyone and will become periodic”

“Next year all Italians will get the third dose of the vaccine, not just the most vulnerable people and health professionals”. This is predicted by Walter Ricciardi, advisor to the Minister of Health Roberto Speranza and full professor of general and applied hygiene at the Catholic University of Rome, in an interview with ‘Il Messaggero’. “Nine to ten months after vaccination, a healthy and not very old person is still protected,” Ricciardi says. “It is plausible, however, that in 2022 everyone will have to have a booster of the anti-covid vaccine,” he adds. When should we get the third dose of the covid vaccine? “We are proceeding for scientific evidence – replies Ricciardi – What is certain is that we have begun to give the third dose to vulnerable subjects, because it has been seen that they have a weaker immune defense. Then we also protect fragile subjects by age, to even more so if they are in nursing homes. Finally, health personnel must be protected. We have observed that vaccine protection is decreasing, especially among operators of a certain age. As far as the general population is concerned, we still have to wait. it is presumed, however, that starting from next year a booster dose must be taken by everyone, with a certain periodicity “. Why will the third dose be given to healthcare personnel, including young people, while everyone else will have to wait for new scientific evidence? “Healthcare workers are more exposed to risk than others and are on average rather older than their European colleagues, so by protecting them we get two results: we protect them as professionals and as people,” he notes. Then the same could be said for other professional categories that have to do with the public. “Of course – adds Ricciardi – But in fact protecting those who work in hospitals is doubly precious, we save their health but also that of patients. Let’s not forget that, when infections between doctors and nurses increase, the departments find themselves unguarded, people cannot be assisted, pathologies cannot be dealt with. This category of workers has absolute priority over others. And then, even the personnel intensely exposed to the public are certainly not subjected to a risk comparable to that of those who must treat patients “.