Latest booster shot against corona drives supporters and opponents in curtains

It is, says professor of health communication Julia van Weert (UvA), ‘a real bargain for vaccine skeptics’. The latest booster shot against corona may have been approved according to all the rules of the game, but one thing is missing: a good explanation of why the ‘BA.4/5’ shot is actually needed.

And that while the booster caused a stir abroad and was already nicknamed the ‘eight-mouse shot’ on the internet, because it is said to have only been tested on eight laboratory animals. ‘Be sure to get boosted. Eight mice have gone before you’, reads one of the countless scornful comments that have been going around for the past few weeks.

It also turns out to be a ‘bummer’ for a completely different group of critics, at the other end of the spectrum, among the about 75 percent of the Dutch who want to be boosted. Because why isn’t the new injection used right away? Because they first want to ‘use up’ the 2.9 million old boosters, so the ministry dropped out this week.

The good thing is that: so the most vulnerable people who are now being pricked will receive an outdated booster, it was said storm of criticism that started this week.

Season Booster

Bet of all the commotion is a prick that was admitted three weeks ago to the European market: a booster from manufacturer Pfizer against the BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the coronavirus, the variants currently Cause 98 percent of all Dutch infections. The new shot follows the seasonal booster that came on the market at the beginning of September, and which is currently being boosted. However, it is geared to (among other things) the ‘BA.1’ version of the omikron variant. And that variant has almost disappeared.

So is the booster that people currently use to help the elderly and the sick a cast-off, while the updated version is already on the shelf? That is not the case, says program manager Hans van Vliet (RIVM), who attended a presentation of the as yet unpublished figures. ‘The differences are purely theoretical. They are both boosters aimed at omikron. And judging by the figures, they both protect equally well against the current variants.’

The BA.4/5 booster is therefore used for a rather practical reason: this is simply the booster that is currently leaving the factory at Pfizer. In addition, they want ‘the widest possible range of vaccines to be available’, says a spokesperson for the Medicines Evaluation Board (MEB), which approved the booster. ‘With the caveat, of course, that the benefit-risk balance must be positive.’

Descendant

However, the latter is a problem for people who were already suspicious of vaccines. After all, the new booster has only been tested on laboratory animals: a test on about a hundred people is still ongoing. Not a problem, because the vaccine has not changed substantially from prescription, vaccine experts emphasize. Only the precise instruction that the body is told in chemical language which variant to respond to has been slightly updated. The same goes for the annual flu shot, says vaccinologist Ben van der Zeijst (LUMC). “The side effects don’t change because the vaccine platform hasn’t changed. They just put in a new cassette.’

Since 2015, people have indeed had to get the annual flu shot no more patient tests to do. The European approval authority EMA decided when approving the BA.4/5 booster going by the numbers of the BA.1 booster. It was tested on 750 people. At the same time, a patient trial was also set up, which has not yet been completed.

This explanation is lacking in government communication, is the criticism of professor of health communication Van Weert. ‘As an outsider you wonder: why is there still a human trial running if it is not necessary? Now we just have to assume that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. While people would like to be able to determine that for themselves. That is why it is so important that you include the citizens, tell the whole story, point out where the uncertainties are and explain why experts think this course is the best.’

It seems too late for that now. ‘Millions of Europeans will soon be pricked with the brand new mRNA product, which has only been tested on eight mice’, grumbled Blackbox TV, a channel for ‘free thinkers’. ‘But you mustn’t know that. Otherwise you won’t be poking anymore,” Thierry Baudet reported to his quarter of a million Twitter followers.

Dramatic increase

What divides scientists more is whether the updated booster really has that much added value. Again and again a new booster, now even more updated: it would mainly be a show of muscle from the manufacturers, according to critics. In the United States, vaccine evaluator and pediatrician Paul Offit decided to vote against marketing for this reason. “I want to see clear evidence of a strong increase in neutralizing antibodies, more than what we saw against BA.1, before we launch a new product,” he said to time. “That’s the least we owe.”

Van Weert understands the criticism: ‘People still take a vaccine because of its effectiveness. And your goal is to help people make an informed decision.”

The renewed booster was delivered two weeks ago without much fanfare admitted to the European market, and will be added to the bulletin board arsenal sometime in the coming months, again without citizens hearing much about it. Not intentional, all involved swear, although it gives people who already did not trust the business the feeling that they are trying to hide something.

No room for customization

Van Weert would argue that those who want a booster shot can choose the injection street: the newest booster, or rather the previous one. But that would be too much hassle, says Van Vliet. “We just need to boost quickly. There is no room for such customization.’

Professor Van Weert sighs audibly on the phone. ‘The people who want the booster will come anyway. But if your strategy is to include the doubters, I would give people who want to do that good information about the differences, and give them the opportunity to get a different vaccine. Now you’re adding fuel to the fire: oh dear, you can’t even choose.’