Great Britain was the first country to approve a vaccine adapted to the omicron variant. Other countries will follow. We have put together what we know about it.
The debate about corona vaccinations will also accompany us this autumn.
Autumn is just around the corner and experts are predicting a new corona wave. Many people are now wondering whether they should refresh their vaccination protection. And whether one of the new vaccines adapted to the Omicron variant is better suited than the “old” vaccine. No expert can predict which Sars-CoV-2 variants will circulate. But it could be the currently dominant omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 or others from the omicron family.
Who should get a second booster shot in the fall?
the Swiss Vaccination Commission recommends a second booster, i.e. a fourth vaccination, to people over the age of 80 as well as children and adults with an impaired immune system. This should take place at the earliest four weeks after a corona infection and four months after the last vaccination (as of July 5, 2022). The recommendations of the German Vaccination Commission. According to that, people over the age of 70 and people with an impaired immune system, as well as residents in care facilities and staff working there, should receive a fourth vaccination (as of May 24, 2022).
In both countries, as elsewhere, no fourth vaccination, i.e. no second booster, is currently recommended for healthy people below the age limit mentioned. However, one wants to analyze the data on the new vaccines adapted to the Omicron variant and then possibly supplement the recommendations, it is said.
Why is there currently no booster recommendation for everyone?
It has been shown that the immune protection built up by two injections plus a booster prevents severe Covid disease in almost all younger, healthy people for more than a year. In addition, many people have now gone through a corona infection and the immune system has therefore undergone an additional maturation boost. In older people and those with a weakened immune system, however, this often needs a kick to maintain an adequate protective function.
So the additional benefit of a fourth vaccination for younger, healthy people is protection against infection for a few months. However, new corona variants can undermine these.
Should I get vaccinated if I already have a corona infection but have never been vaccinated?
The experts say yes. Because it is assumed that a single infection with an “old” Sars-CoV-2 variant does not protect as reliably against severe Covid disease in the event of renewed infection with another corona variant.
Will there be new vaccines adapted to Omicron in the fall?
Most likely yes. Both the manufacturers of mRNA vaccines, Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna, and other companies have developed adapted vaccines or are doing so. The mRNA products are the most advanced. The so-called bivalent vaccines contain mRNA material from the original coronavirus and that from the omicron variant.
Biontech/Pfizer and Moderna have applied for approval of their adapted vaccines in Switzerland and the EU. The competent authorities check the submitted data. Since the vaccines have already been produced in advance, delivery can begin as soon as approval is obtained. This is expected for September.
On Monday (15 August 2022), Great Britain became the first country to approve a moderna bivalent vaccine as a booster for adults. It is expected that the adapted vaccines will initially only be approved as boosters in Switzerland and the EU.
According to the current status, if someone is to be vaccinated against Corona for the first time this fall, they will still receive the “old” vaccines. Because these also provide protection against serious diseases after infection with the omicron variant. And the clinical trials for these tried-and-tested products were larger and therefore more meaningful than those with the adapted vaccines.
Do the adapted vaccines protect better against omicron?
It can be assumed. However, there is still little data from the clinical studies carried out by the manufacturers. According to these, the amount of antibodies that neutralize the omicron viruses was significantly greater after the booster with the adapted vaccine than after a booster with the “old” vaccines.
This means that the adapted vaccines protect well against infection with an omicron variant in the weeks following administration. For older people and those with a weakened immune system in particular, a booster with a vaccine adapted to Omikron could be important next autumn – if a virus from the Omikron family is then circulating. This would give them protection against infection and would also stabilize their protection against a serious illness. This would also relieve the health system overall.
Is it advisable for vulnerable people to be vaccinated now with the second booster – and then (as soon as it is available) with an adapted vaccine?
There is currently uncertainty about this. Because the adapted vaccines have not yet been approved and not all study data have been reviewed. However, since it is expected that this will happen in September or October and thus in all probability before the larger corona wave in autumn, experts are now advising not to rush. Especially since the majority of vulnerable people have already received three vaccinations and therefore have at least some protection against serious illnesses.
It should also be noted that boosters cannot be given too close together. If you get the fourth injection now, you would have to wait at least four months before you can get the fifth. It might therefore make more sense to wait with the fourth vaccination until the adapted vaccines are available in October. But the decision should be tailored to the individual situation and made in consultation with the family doctor.
It is also completely unclear whether those people who suffer from a form of Long Covid should receive a fourth injection as soon as possible or an adapted vaccine later. Because nobody knows whether a renewed corona infection will trigger a worsening of the symptoms and therefore must be prevented at all costs. And it has not yet been clearly shown how this can be done most efficiently.
Are there several adapted vaccines and are they all equally good?
Yes, there are several. Both from different manufacturers and in different compositions. For example, Moderna’s UK-approved adapted vaccine contains mRNA material from the BA.1 omicron variant. However, this has long since been supplanted in Europe and the USA by the Omikron variants BA.4 and BA.5.
According to the study data, the vaccine with BA.1 material worked less well against the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5. The American regulatory authority has therefore signaled that they actually want to approve a vaccine adapted to BA.4 and BA.5. Such one, manufactured by Biontech/Pfizer, is currently being examined by the Swiss and EU authorities. Moderna is also currently testing one.