Repeat Booster Shots Spur European Warning on Immune-System Risks
European
Union regulators warned that frequent Covid-19 booster shots could
adversely affect the immune system and may not be feasible.
Repeat
booster doses every four months could eventually weaken the immune
system and tire out people, according to the European Medicines Agency.
Instead, countries should leave more time between booster programs and
tie them to the onset of the cold season in each hemisphere, following
the blueprint set out by influenza vaccination strategies, the agency
said.
The advice comes as some countries consider the
possibility of offering people second booster shots in a bid to provide
further protection against surging omicron infections. Earlier this
month Israel became the first nation to start administering a second
booster, or fourth shot, to those over 60. The U.K. has said that
boosters are providing good levels of protection and there is no need
for a second booster shot at the moment, but will review data as it
evolves.
Boosters “can be done once, or maybe twice, but it’s
not something that we can think should be repeated constantly,” Marco
Cavaleri, the EMA head of biological health threats and vaccines
strategy, said at a press briefing on Tuesday. “We need to think about
how we can transition from the current pandemic setting to a more
endemic setting.”
The EU regulator also said at the briefing that
oral and intravenous antivirals, such as Paxlovid and Remdesivir,
maintain their efficacy against omicron. The agency said that April is
the soonest it could approve a new vaccine targeting a specific variant,
as the process takes about three to four months. Some of the world’s
largest vaccine-makers have said they are looking at producing vaccines
that could target new variants.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-11/repeat-booster-shots-risk-overloading-immune-system-ema-says
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