Experts consider that in the current context, healthy people do not need additional doses and advocate continuing to immunize vulnerable groups
He covid-19 is no longer a health emergency international last Friday after just over three years of pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of the end of the health emergency does not mean, however, that SARS-CoV-2 has stopped circulating.
What has changed then? Experts agree that the high level of immunization achieved in many countries poses a radically different context, although it is also true that the coronavirus has other risks, such as he covid persistent and the appearance of new variants. Taking all this into account, will we have to continue getting vaccinated every year?
Experts understand that no. The professor of Immunology at the University of Vigo (UVigo) África González recalls that the WHO has updated its vaccination guide and only recommends booster dose –which is supplied between six and 12 months after the previous one– for groups exposed to a greater risk of death and serious illness due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, that is, the elderly, immunosuppressed, pregnant women and health workers. On the contrary, he considers that adults in good health do not need a supplementary dose of the covid vaccine, beyond the primary dose and a first booster, since the benefits are minimal.
The Ministry of Health no new vaccination campaign has advanced, but it is to be expected that he will advocate continuing to vaccinate against covid-19 once a year for those over 60 years of age and risk groups, just as with the flu. It should be remembered that Spain is one of the countries with the highest vaccination rates in the world.
“With the current situation, immunization of the general population will not be necessary. We will have to see the people at risk, the elderly and immunocompromised who may need it,” says the immunologist.
González explains that SARS-CoV-2 mutates less than the flu virus, which changes significantly and generates new strains that are very different from each other. “In the case of SARS-CoV-2, its changes are minor, even though there are lineages and sublineages. We have spent many months with the same variant, omicronand vaccines continue to protect of severe disease against this variant& rdquor ;, he says.
This does not mean, however, that progress should not continue in covid vaccines. “Of course, being able to have more specific and targeted vaccines against the new variants is essential, but the best thing would be to have a multivariate and universal vaccine that could induce lasting and effective protection against all of them& rdquor;, he adds.
For his part, Juan Jesús Gestal Otero, professor emeritus of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), maintains that It cannot be stated whether in the future we will have to continue vaccinating ourselves against covid. “It is something that we cannot say with certainty now, because we do not know to what extent it will continue to be a health problem in our environment against which we have to adopt more or less extensive prevention measures,” says the expert, who adds that the data on its incidence seem to indicate that SARS-CoV-2 will stay with us. “It is possible, then, that for the fall the recommendation to get vaccinated against covid will be included in people with risk factors such as those over 65 years of age, or those who are taking immunosuppressive treatments or have diseases that decrease the functioning of their immune system. It will be necessary to continue monitoring the subtypes and variants that circulate and adapt the vaccines to them & rdquor ;, he affirms.
For the expert, to determine if new vaccination campaigns will be necessary, factors such as the fact that the covid, throughout the pandemic, has not shown seasonality, unlike other respiratory viruses, such as the virus, must be taken into account. the flu. “It will undoubtedly be something that will have to be taken into account when organizing the prevention campaigns and decide which groups will be offered the vaccines, although everything indicates that they are the elderly and those who present risk factors for suffering severe forms& rdquor ;, he comments.
The persistent covid, the great challenge
Epidemiologist Juan Gestal explains that since mid-January, the cumulative 14-day incidence of covid in Spain has remained stable. “It is around 50-60 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with small fluctuations; with little burden on the health systemand, although fewer, deaths have continued to occur & rdquor ;, he explains.
“It is possible that each fall the recommendation will be included in people with risk factors & rdquor;
One of the great challenges for scientists is unravel the causes of resistant covid, a condition that is maintained after overcoming the SARS-CoV-2 infection and that is not related to how its process has been in the acute phase. Its symptoms are dyspnea, precordial pain, headache, cognitive alterations, fatigue, paresthesias and sleep disorders, among others.
“With the current situation, immunization of the general population will not be necessary”
“Persistent covid is an important sequel to many people who became infected with the virus. We must continue studying what factors cause some people to suffer from it and others not& rdquor;, explains the immunologist África González.
According to the expert, its origin is one of the aspects pending clarification. “There is talk of possible inflammatory reaction that would be maintained chronically, maintain viruses or even autoimmune response, which is when our immune system turns against us. For now it is not clear and researchers have put forward different hypotheses about its possible causes,” says the immunologist.
Persistent covid was recognized as a disease by the WHO in September 2020 and by the Ministry of Health in January 2021.