According to the Health Council, offering an extra booster to people between the ages of 60 and 69 would be sensible because the omicron wave lasts a little longer than expected. In the meantime, the effectiveness of the booster also decreases in this group. For example, the council expects that the protection against hospitalization for people in their sixties will only be between 75 and 85 percent at the beginning of April. Within the first four weeks after the booster, this was still an average of 89 percent.
And it is precisely from the age group of 60 that the risk of a serious course of corona clearly increases compared to the younger groups, according to the council. For example, in the week of February 28 to March 6, 10 in 100,000 were hospitalized in that group, compared to 5 in 100,000 in the 50 to 59 age group. “In the most recent modeling by the RIVM, based on the vaccination status, vaccine effectiveness and the relaxation of measures, an increase in the number of hospital admissions in the Netherlands can be expected in the coming weeks,” the organization says.
However, there is a great deal of uncertainty about this. In that situation, however, the Health Council deems it sensible to administer the extra booster. People in their sixties who have had a vaccination or have been infected for more than three months should then be able to get it.
Other groups
So far, only people over 70, residents of nursing homes and adults with Down syndrome and a severe immune disorder are eligible for an extra booster (repeat shot). They have the greatest chance of a serious course of corona. In addition, they were the first to receive the boosters (from November) and so their effectiveness has decreased the most.
According to the Health Council, there is currently no reason to re-vaccinate other groups. It is also not necessary to continuously maintain the immunity of the entire population by means of periodic boosters in the coming period, the organization says.
The main reason for this is that the currently dominant omicron variant is relatively mild. “As a result, in the lower age groups, despite a large number of infections, there is a much smaller chance of hospitalization due to COVID-19.”
Quickly an extra shot when needed
However, the organization emphasizes that it is important that specific target groups can quickly receive an extra shot in the future if the epidemiological situation gives reason to do so. “For example, in the event of a sharp increase in the number of infections or the emergence of a virus variant that is more pathogenic than the current omicron variant.”
To this end, the Health Council has drawn up an ‘application framework’ and presented it to Minister Kuipers. Central to this is the question of how sickening the infectious disease is and how large the group is that is affected by it. It must also be considered how effective the vaccines are against it, while the possible adverse health effects of the vaccination (side effects) must not significantly affect the health gain in the population.