Should one use the original serum for the booster against Covid-19, choose the new BA.1 vaccine or wait for the soon available vaccines against the ommicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5? For clinical pharmacologist Markus Zeitlinger, the matter is clear: “I wouldn’t wait two months.” But if all three sera were on the table in front of him, he would opt for the latest vaccine, according to the expert.
The two newer vaccines are so-called bivalent vaccines that, in addition to the active substances against the omicron subvariants BA.1 and BA.4/BA.5, also contain half of those against the original virus. According to Zeitlinger, this is because the new variants have evolved from this one by one. And so you are better protected against further mutations.
So why is there no vaccine that is effective against both the original variant and BA.1 and BA.4/BA.5? Because you can not increase the amount of active ingredients too much, as this would potentially lead to intolerance. On the other hand, the total amount cannot be divided into too many components, otherwise, according to the expert, the desired effect would not be achieved.
The difference between the original vaccine and BA.1 is also not very big. If you had a titer of 500 before the booster (it indicates the number of certain antibodies in the blood, note) it was 5000 then, with the adjusted BA.1 it was 7500 after that. “That doesn’t make the herb greasy,” explains the expert.
According to Zeitlinger, BA.4/BA.5 should work even better, but there is no clinical data for that, as this vaccine is approved according to the procedure analogous to the flu vaccine and its strains. “Based on the experience with BA.1, BA.4/5 will work better, but we don’t know yet. But there won’t be a big difference.”
BA.1 vaccines will be available soon
What you should vaccinate with is an individual decision. Hundreds of thousands of BA.1 vaccines (from Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna, note) should be available in Austria as early as next week – “and I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t choose,” says the pharmacologist.
And there is nothing wrong with getting the next booster with the current vaccine within three or four months of the booster with a BA.1 vaccine. Perhaps the next type of coronavirus will come again, Zeitlinger said.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.