The Standing Vaccination Commission (STIKO) recommends booster vaccinations because of the omicron variant of the coronavirus after at least three instead of six months. The committee announced on Tuesday that the recommendation to shorten the vaccination interval applies to adults with immediate effect. It aims to improve protection against severe diseases caused by Omikron in the population and to reduce the transmission of the variant. It is to be expected that Omikron will determine the infection process here in the country “within a very short time”.
According to STIKO, older and previously ill people should be given the injection because of their higher risk of Covid-19. The two mRNA vaccines that are used for boosting – Comirnaty from Biontech / Pfizer and Spikevax from Moderna – are “completely equivalent in terms of their effectiveness.”
Current data indicate a significantly reduced vaccination protection after the basic immunization compared to the Omikron variant, explained the STIKO. This decreases significantly after three to four months. After a booster vaccination, the protective effect against symptomatic infection with the Omikron variant increases again significantly. It can currently be assumed that protection against severe disease will also increase. Nothing can currently be said about the duration of the protection.
This STIKO booster recommendation is final
The STIKO had previously recommended that a booster vaccination should be given every six months after the last vaccine dose of the basic vaccination. A shortening of the vaccination interval to five months could “be considered in individual cases or if sufficient capacities are available”. For immunocompromised people, an even shorter interval between the second and third dose was possible. In contrast to some earlier updates, the change made on Tuesday is already a final STIKO recommendation.