The European Union’s drug controller on Monday approved booster doses of the Pfizer /biontech covid vaccine for all people aged 18 and over, amid concerns that protection dips after initial jabs.
The European Medical Association said in a statement on Monday that data for the vaccine had shown a rise in antibody levels when a booster shot is administered approximately six months after the second dose in people aged 18 to 55, as per reports.
Meanwhile, the EMA also recommended an extra dose of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for those with severely weakened immune systems. It has also been recommended that the booster doses "may be considered at least six months after the second dose for people aged 18 years and older". The EMA said that it had given the green light after studies showed that an extra dose of these vaccines increases the ability of organ transplant patients with severely weakened immune systems to produce antibodies against the virus that causes Covid-19. The extra dose should be given to the severely immune-compromised at least 28 days after their second dose, it added.
The agency also added: "Although there is no direct evidence that the ability to produce antibodies in these patients protected against Covid-19, it is expected that the extra dose would increase protection at least in some patients," it said, adding that it will continue monitoring any new data on its effectiveness.
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