Expert committee member calls for booster Covid shot earlier

People who have been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus should get their booster shot four instead of six months after their last dose to stem transmission and the possibility of serious illness, a member of the committee of experts advising the government on the pandemic, said on Tuesday.

“When the vaccines first came out, they had this incredible effectiveness that we believed would last for some time. I had also said that we should be covered for six months. But new studies have shown that their effectiveness starts to wane after four months, mainly for mild infections, which do not lead to death but are still a transmission risk,” Theodoros Vassilakopoulos, an Athens University professor of pulmonary and critical care medicine, told Skai television.

The booster “needs come sooner,” he said, warning that “the worst obviously still lies ahead,” after Greece on Monday broke a new record with 7,335 new infections in 24 hours.

He added that while being vaccinated protects most people from serious illness, this is not the case for people over the age of 60, who are particularly vulnerable. 

“The vaccinated need to be protected by having the option of getting their booster shot earlier, at four months at least,” he said.

“Science is a process of seeking the truth through experimentation and study. We have to rethink or adjust what we know as new evidence emerges,” said Vassilakopoulos.