The EMA does not rule out a fourth dose of the Covid vaccine because “there are people who are particularly vulnerable to the Covid virus,” said Marco Cavaleri, head of the European Medicines Agency’s vaccination strategy, writes La Stampa, according to Rador. At the same time, within a month, or even earlier, it will be decided whether to vaccinate against coronavirus and children under 12 years.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has announced that it will remove the reservation on the possible recommendation to administer the anti-Covid Pfizer / BioNtech serum to children aged 5 to 11 “in December”. A decision that arrives “in a shorter time” than similar ones because the situation requires a change of pace. Meanwhile, the EMA does not rule out a fourth dose of the vaccine: “There are people who are particularly vulnerable to the Covid virus,” says Marco Cavaleri, head of the vaccination strategy at the European Medicines Agency. We already recommend a third dose to immunocompromised patients and it is not excluded that this category of people who do not respond to vaccination may already benefit from a fourth dose ”.
Cavalieri, Fergus Sweeney, head of the working group for clinical trials and production, and Georgy Genov, director of Pharmacovigilance, share the same concern. “We notice that in Europe, the number of COVID19 infections is increasing again. In the face of this phenomenon, which seems to be a new wave, “it is important for people to get vaccinated, or to complete the initial vaccination cycle.”
The latest update of the virus spread map drawn up by the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) sees half of Europe on a red alert. Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia and Austria have seen an increase in new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, bringing the 12 states back Member States in an emergency. Seven other countries – Finland, Sweden, Cyprus, Greece, Germany, Poland and Hungary – have an orange code epidemiological situation.
Hence the decision to speed up vaccination in children and also not to waste time in evaluating a possible fourth dose of anti-Covid. To date, the EMA has authorized the marketing and administration of four types of vaccines, VaxZevria (formerly AstraZeneca), Pfizer / BioNtech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. Now, Novavax has presented new data and useful information for the marketing of its serum, which will most likely “be approved in the coming months”, as announced by the representatives of the EU agency in Amsterdam.
So, with the new year, we could have a new tool to defend against Coronavirus, but it seems clear that in any case, the sting remains the main way. For VaxZevria, Pfizer / BioNtech and Moderna pharmaceuticals, a third additional dose was given the green light, in addition to the two required for full coverage. For Johnson & Johnson, produced in a single dose, “we are waiting for data on the booster given six months after the first dose”.
However, in general, the policy chosen to prevent the recurrence of the virus seems to be to update vaccination certificates. Most Member States have begun administering additional doses to people at highest risk for coronavirus infection and transmission, Cavalieri recalls, adding that “the next step could be to extend booster doses to the entire population.”
