Credit NIH Director's Blog - Dec 14th
#16,490
It has become increasingly apparent that two shots of the mRNA COVID vaccine are not enough to protect against breakthrough infection from the Omicron variant, although it is still expected to help reduce severe illness, hospitalization, and death.
The addition of a booster shot, however, has been shown to significantly increase protection - at least in the short term - although (mostly) mild-to-moderate breakthrough infections are still possible (see CDC HAN #00461: Using Therapeutics to Prevent and Treat COVID-19).
Earlier this week the United States reduced the recommended waiting time to get the Pfizer booster shot (see CDC Recommends Pfizer Booster After 5 Months), while 3 weeks ago Denmark Reduced Time Between 2nd COVID Shot And Booster to just 4.5 months.
Five weeks ago - on the advice of their JCVI - the UK lowered theirs to only 3 months.
Today, facing an expected wave of Omicron, Taiwan lowered the bar even further, urging everyone over the age of 18 who received their 2nd shot more than 12 weeks (84 days) ago, to get boosted.
Individuals aged 18 or older who have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for 12 weeks urged to get booster dose as soon as possible starting today
PublishTime：2022-01-07
On January 7, The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) pointed out that the risk of community infection has increased due to the new confirmed domestic cases of the variant Omicron. The CECC reported that according to the resolutions of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, individuals aged 18 or older who have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine for 12 weeks (84 days) to get a booster dose for better protection.
Recommendations on brands of booster shots are listed below.
A. Individuals who have completed the primary series of an mRNA vaccine (e.g. Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech) or a protein subunit vaccine (e.g. Medigen) : can choose Moderna (half-dose shot), BNT, Medigen, or AstraZeneca (AZ) as their booster.
B. Individuals who have completed the primary series of the AZ vaccine: can choose an mRNA vaccine or a protein subunit vaccine as their booster.
Eligible individuals can look up vaccine brands and vaccination times given by a nearby contracted hospital or clinic through the website at https://antiflu.cdc.gov.tw/Covid19 (in Chinese only) or the announcement of their local health department.
Even before Omicron's emergence in November we were seeing signs that the 2-dose primary series was losing steam against Delta after about 6 months, but the dramatically shifted Omicron variant (see Preprint: Mapping the Antigenic Diversification of SARS-CoV-2) has greatly exacerbated the problem.
While we don't know how long this 3rd dose will extend the vaccine's protection, the goal right now is to get through the next 3 months while taking as little damage as possible.
I've got mine, and I'm glad for any extra protection in the weeks and months ahead. And frankly - other than face masks social distancing - we've very little else in our armamentarium against this pandemic.
