For the rest of the population, an additional booster is not necessary in the short term.
Protection is declining
Out research of the British health authorities shows that the protection of the booster is decreasing. The first booster shot lowers the risk of an omikron infection with symptoms by 65 to 75 percent. After fifteen weeks, that protection drops to 25 to 40 percent.
The percentage of protection against a serious infection after the booster is maintained for longer. Two to four weeks after the injection, the booster protects 90 percent against hospitalization and after nine weeks the protection is 85 percent. According to the Health Council, little is known about how much extra protection a second booster offers, but an extra shot is still advised three months after the booster as a precaution.
First research results
In Israel, a fourth shot is now being offered to people over 60 and healthcare workers. The first research results show that a second booster provides 4.3 times fewer people with a serious corona infection. A small side note: the research period is short, so it is not yet known how long this extra protection will last.
Criticism
There is also criticism of the extra booster. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) say that it is not sustainable in the long term to vaccinate people every three months.
Furthermore, vaccines are still scarce worldwide. Critics say it is important that unvaccinated people in poor countries are given priority. In addition to being important for their health, this would also reduce the chance of new, possibly more dangerous virus variants arising.
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