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Without having finished the first round of immunization, it is already debated whether a third dose will be necessary.

This has meant fanning the embers of the vaccine war that caused so much talk at the beginning of the vaccination campaign.

Some countries are already taking real steps and clicking 'for the third time', like Israel;

others, like France and Germany, have been in favor of following in its wake;

Spain does not rule out the option, and while the World Health Organization (WHO) is adamant against it.

Currently, more than 80% of available doses have been administered in high- and middle-income countries, despite accounting for less than half of the world's population. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO, has emphasized that "we cannot accept that countries that have already used most of the world's supply of vaccines use even more, while the world's most vulnerable people remain without protection" . The WHO has set minimum goals: to vaccinate at least 10% of the population of developing countries by the end of September. The health authorities of Africa, a continent in which only 1.58% of its 1.2 billion inhabitants are vaccinated against covid-19 with the full schedule, support the request for a moratorium launched by the WHO.

Meanwhile, in Europe, for example, the objectives are different, to be able to protect 70% before the end of the summer and to take a step further to avoid infections in the most vulnerable population. From the EU, the spokeswoman for the European Commission, Arianna Podestà said yesterday during a press conference that "the choice about whether to administer a booster dose rests with the Member States. As always, we encourage decisions based on science, in line with the advice of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) ".

But the pressure of society is there, to prevent the elderly and the most fragile for their health from losing the protection that the vaccine gives them. French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday that his country is preparing to administer a third dose of the covid vaccine "for the oldest and most fragile people." In Israel, the third dose is already administered from Sunday to those over 60 years of age and on Thursday it exceeded 260,000 people inoculated with that additional injection.

In Chile, one of the most advanced Latin American countries in this field, it is already planning to plan that third dose together with Uruguay.

Health Minister Enrique Paris confirmed on Thursday that a "booster dose" program will be launched, although there is still no timetable and it has not been established which part of the population will access.

To social pressure, it is added that laboratories already have the dispensing of these batches to reinforce immunity.

It is enough to remember that the EU has already signed with Pfizer-BioNTech the purchase of up to 1.8 billion doses for the member states in two years.

From the German-American team, as from Moderna, it has been put on the table that the variants decrease the effectiveness of the vaccine and that reinforcements will be necessary for next autumn.

It is true that, from the beginning, from a clinical point of view, it was taken for granted that the anti-Covid would have to be punctured again. Raúl Ortiz de Lejarazu, former director of the National Influenza Center of Valladolid and virologist explains that from this center (of the WHO GISRS network) "for months a follow-up study of antibodies has been carried out in vaccinated residents of residences and one of the first effects observed is that those older (<65 years) who respond best to the first and subsequent doses of vaccine are those who had been infected by the virus months before (with positive PCR) ".

In this sense, Lejarazu prefers to speak of revaccination, not a third dose, since the number of doses are part of a schedule, and if it is given regularly it is another action, as occurs with the flu every year.

"In order to revaccinate, it will be necessary to determine who, how (with what) and when and that requires preliminary observational studies that are not yet completed. That way we will not unnecessarily revaccinate anyone and the first vaccination will be able to follow in many disadvantaged countries. Inclusion in the calendar must have solid scientific backing, all the vaccines included in it are financed and this fact determines that there is unequivocal proof of the effectiveness of revaccination, "explains Lejarazu.

Situation in Spain

The Government's goal now is to reach the 70% milestone. Carolina Darias, Minister of Health, insisted in her last intervention before the press to give an account of the decisions of the Interterritorial Council that "efforts are now focused on reaching the marked percentage by mid-August." Yesterday, 60% were already touched, with 59.1% with the complete guideline. Although, at the end of July, Darias made a forecast about the possibility of a "booster dose" of the Covid-19 vaccine, although he acknowledged that "when" it will begin to be supplied has not yet been determined.

The impact of the delta variant and the figures of the fifth wave have encouraged many groups to ask for the reinforcement now. Outbreaks in nursing homes call into question the effectiveness of vaccines. From the Business Circle of Attention to People (CEAPS) Health has been requested to carry out a study of the immunity of vaccinated people to find out whether or not a third dose of the vaccine is necessary. "We do not ask for it if it is not necessary, but this study is fundamental", highlights the president, Cinta Pascual.

The spokesman for the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians, Dr. Lorenzo Armenteros, said this Monday that it is necessary that the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine be administered "as soon as possible."

Armenteros argues for this that «this wave has different characteristics from the previous ones due to the population it is affecting.

As time passes we detect that the infections spread to people of other ages already vaccinated.

And it was foreseeable, because these vaccines do not have the sterilizing character that would allow the possibility of not transmitting the virus, what they prevent is the progression of the disease.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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