The fourth dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 should not be applied for now, said Jarbas Barbosa, deputy director of PAHO (Pan American Health Organization), at a press conference this Wednesday (16).
“The discussion on the fourth dose should take place, but at the right time, at a time when we have more evidence,” he said.
According to Barbosa, the priority for Brazil, at the moment, should be to make the third dose feasible, mainly for priority groups —elderly and immunosuppressed, for example— who have not yet taken the vaccine booster.
The specialist explained that this lack of application of the third dose can be observed when comparing data on vaccination coverage. The most recent information from the consortium of press vehicles that follow the pandemic indicates that 71% of the population has already completed the vaccination schedule, but only 26% have taken the third dose.
Barbosa also points out that it is important to monitor new evidence on the effectiveness of the fourth dose of vaccines while this effort to serve the population that has not yet taken the effort takes place. “While [aumentamos a cobertura da terceira dose]we must calmly analyze the scientific evidence on the fourth”, he said.
In Brazil, the Ministry of Health made a recommendation, in early February, for the application of the fourth dose in immunocompromised people over 12 years of age. Before, this indication was directed only to adults in this risk group.
According to a note published by the folder, the vaccination schedule for this group is made with three doses with an interval of eight weeks between them. The fourth dose should be given four months later.
The guidance is not mandatory for states and municipalities. In the state of São Paulo, Governor João Doria (PSDB), for example, stated that the fourth dose would be available for people from São Paulo even if the Ministry of Health did not do the same for the general population.
Other countries in the world have already authorized the fourth dose. This is the case of Israel, which opted for reinforcement at the end of 2021.
Some research already investigates whether this administration has real positive effects against the pandemic. One of them was made by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States) and observed that the effectiveness of the third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines decreases significantly from the fourth month, something that may be an indication of the need to another booster dose.
Another study carried out in Israel observed that the fourth dose would not be as effective against the onomicron, a variant that has a high capacity to spread and has led to new waves of the disease around the world.
Because of this, some experts already argue that it would be important to carry out updates or develop new vaccines instead of opting for the strategy of constant reinforcement. Experts from the WHO (World Health Organization), for example, have already said that other immunizing agents would be needed that, in addition to preventing severe cases of Covid-19, managed to stop the transmission of the virus.
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