We need to change gear. To contain the consequences of the wave triggered by Omicron 5 but also to prepare for autumn. There campaign for the fourth dose of anti-Covid vaccine, in fact, it is starting in these hours after the indications of the Ministry of Health following the green light of Ema, Ecdc and Aifa. The first goal is involve the over 80s more, which since April 8 have responded weakly to the call already available for them: only 22% received the fourth injection. But the highest lethality rates continue to concern precisely those demographic groups. The adhesion of frail people is also lukewarm: only 46% made the second booster. With the contagiousness of this variant, although less pathogenic, the elderly and immunosuppressed are audiences who risk a lot.
The second point is expand to over 60s (there are about 13.5 million Italians in their 60s and 70s) ea all immunocompromised over 12 years, involving family doctors and pharmacies, and evidently partly restarting the vaccination hub machine where it is possible to revive the adhesion of people also through a specific communication campaign. All in anticipation of the broader strategy for autumn, of which the July move is in fact an appetizer. It seems useless to wait for the updated products of Moderna and Pfizer seems to be the position of the authorities – on which in fact the EMA is still far from issuing a judgment – if those available still defend us with high effectiveness from hospitalizations and death and if July and August, despite the decreasing increase, are expected to be marked by a very high circulation.
Each region will obviously proceed according to its own indicationssome with free access, some with reservation, largely exploiting the systems already used during 2021 and up to now. There Lombardy for example, it will start on Wednesday 13 July and appointments can be made starting from the night between 12 and 13 July using the dedicated regional portal used previously. In the Lazioinstead, it will be possible to book on the regional portal from Thursday 14 July and obviously the administration can also be done by your general practitioner and in the over 500 pharmacies that have joined the vaccination campaign. But some vaccination hubs will also be reactivated, including La Vela a Tor Vergata, via Lamaro (Cinecittà studios), Termini station, Istituto Spallanzani and piazzale Ostiense Acea. Also in Tuscany You don’t change the winning scheme: you can immediately get vaccinated by contacting the family doctor or the authorized pharmacy or by booking in an ASL clinic through the Book Vaccine portal.
But who was infected during the first months of 2022, say starting with Omicron 2, must take the fourth dose? The opinions are rather unanimous: it depends on the time elapsed since the infection (and also on the third dose of vaccine, anyone who has received only two is still invited to proceed with the first booster). The virologist Francesco Broccoloof the Bicocca University of Milan, explained to theHandle that the fourth dose of the anti Covid-19 vaccine is “useful only for vulnerable patients over 60 who have performed the booster by 2021, therefore after seven 7 months as long as they have not had natural Omicron infections”. Those over 60 with no particular health concerns, adds Broccoli, distinguishing themselves in part from those who instead push for a fourth dose for all over 60s and immediately, could perhaps wait for the new autumn products. Massimo Galliprofessor of infectious disease at the State University of Milan, is instead in a situation common to many Italians: “I’m considering whether to get a fourth dose of the vaccine, even if not updated, taking into account that when I got sick it was January 2022 and the variant that ran was Omicron 1. E Omicron 5 reinfects those who have already done omicron 1 and 2. So I’m among those who can apply for a new booster, an immune boost that would allow me to respond better in the event that this summer, as probable, I find myself again exposed to the risk of contagion“. A good piece of the shyness in responding to the new vaccination campaign is basically all in these reflections: with millions of Italians infected in the Omicron era and some new products around the corner, each is in a different situation to evaluate carefully.
In many, however, they didn’t even take the third dose and in that case the invitation to carry it out is even more stringent. In general, regardless of the opinion of this or that expert, for those who have completed the three-dose cycle and then contracted some variant Omicron the indication is to undergo the fourth dose only if 120 days have passed since positivity. The same tip applies to vaccination. At least four months must pass between the third and fourth dose. A golden rule, that of the four months, which in all likelihood will also guide the timing of the autumn campaign which will be indicated for the usual bands but probably accessible to anyone who wishes.
Covid and quarantine rules, Pregliasco: “Too early to loosen them”
Anti-Covid vaccine, the fourth dose is slow: here is who should do it immediately
Source: Vanity Fair
