Fourth dose approved for vulnerable
Greece’s National Vaccination Committee Tuesday approved the administration of a fourth dose of a coronavirus vaccine to immunocompromised people.
The experts decided that this group will be able to get a fourth jab 3-6 months after the third.
The decision concerns patients with hematological and oncological illnesses who are under treatment, people receiving immunosuppressive drugs, transplant recipients and patients with rheumatic diseases or renal failure.
At present, and with the current epidemiological data, the administration of a fourth dose to the general population does not appear to be on the cards.
The chairwoman of the national vaccination committee, Maria Theodoridou, cited a recent report by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization that reviewed all the data and concluded that the third dose offers very good protection against serious disease. Priority, she said, is given to the third dose vaccination by all countries, including the US. The administration of the fourth dose is something for the future, and hinges on both epidemiological and clinical data, she noted.
Meanwhile the surge of the Omicon variant in Greece seems to have “slowed down,” according to health authorities Tuesday, which confirmed 32,694 new cases in a total of 583,206 tests (positivity 5.6%).
New deaths of patients with Covid-19 came to 80, while the number of patients being treated by intubation was 640.
Hospital admissions of new patients stood at 497. According to the National Public Health Organization (EODY), the hospitalization time of patients infected by Omicron is five days. What’s more, 50% of hospital admissions concern Omicron. The other 50% of patients are infected with the Delta variant, which, despite appearing to be on the retreat, is still causing many hospitalizations.
