Israel begins fourth Covid-19 dose vaccine rollout for people 60 and over as Omicron cases surge

[brooklynite]

Source: CNN

Jerusalem (CNN)Israel is to begin rolling out a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine with immediate effect for people ages 60 and over, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems, the Prime Minister's Office announced Tuesday, following a recommendation from the country's panel of coronavirus experts.

Those eligible for the fourth dose can receive it provided at least four months have passed since the third dose, it said. In Israel, almost all vaccinated citizens have received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

One of the members of the expert panel told Israeli radio Tuesday evening that the decision to recommend a fourth dose had not been an easy one.

"We don't really have data yet on the level of immunity, like we did when we decided on the third dose, but on the other hand, there is really scary data out there in the rest of the world, Professor Galia Rahav said.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/21/middleeast/israel-fourth-covid-vaccine-booster-intl/index.html

[womanofthehills]

1. Nothing about what's in 4th dose

Is it the same as 3rd? We were hearing 4th dose would cover new variants but nothing about what’s in it in this article - unless I missed something.

[moriah]

2. I think they're hoping to milk the current vaxxes for all they are worth....

... before going through the testing process to start a new one. If continuous boosting w/ vaccines a lot of people aren't bothering to take works and uses up what we paid a heck of a lot of money for, why test a new one?

At the same time, either we are going to either have to make new ones when Moderna and Pfizer don't work, or potentially go the "flu shot" route by creating ones based on predicted predominant strains. Hopefully despite the fast mutation rate the viruses have not yet departed enough for boosting w/ the mRNA vaccine supply we have to lower the risk of ICU/death.

[James48]

3. Interesting.

This time it’s “fourth month from the third dose.”

I want to see the data on this one. Will mark my 4 month mark here for review.

[krkaufman]

4. 4 months

"provided at least four months have passed"

Yet another aspect that has me questioning the CDC, that we've limited boosters to a 6 month window.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. "we've limited boosters to a 6 month window"

This past late summer, one of the points of discussion regarding Pfizer's vaccine was whether spreading out the interval of dosing - whether between the first and second shots or the second and third, would provide a better and more robust response.

Some specific discussions regarding a boost (in Pfizer's case, a "3rd dose in a series&quot , included this from a couple slide decks -

Workgroup's summary of considerations -



Data from Pfizer -



So I think the sensible issue here is rather than keep boosting and boosting within short time frames because you demand "90%+ efficacy" at all times (meaning more needles and more time to take out of your day to do it, which might also result in more possible side-effects) is to come up with a reasonable level for an efficacy drop before boosting again.

[SunSeeker]

5. Makes sense. Booster protection wanes 2-3 months after the shot.

That's what Dr. Peter Hotez said on Lawrence O'Donnell last night

[BumRushDaShow]

7. The question then becomes

whether there should ever be an expectation (demand) that you have 90+% of efficacy at all times (which is extremely difficult for respiratory vaccines) and if so, would you expect to have to get a shot every "2 - 3 months"?

I know there are many people today who must take shots every single day (e.g., certain diabetics, RA patients, etc). But given not already having some of the more severe medical conditions, would the general public be willing to get one as frequent as every couple months or once a quarter? Could the potential side-effects from the boost begin to piss people off and they will then say f-it?

(just some points to consider )

[SunSeeker]

8. Well of course.

Hell, we can't even get some people to take a single J&J shot, let alone boosters.