Will I Need a Third Dose of the Vaccine?

Many persons across the world have received their double dose of the vaccine. In a way, they are the ones we are calling 'Fully Vaccinated'.

Pfizer has applied for permission to give a third dose of the vaccine to those who are fully vaccinated, in order to boost the immune response.

The issue is contentious medically and morally. 

Medically the evidence is not yet strong enough to warrant a routine third/ booster dose of the vaccine.

Morally there is a dilemma - since a large percentage of the world population is yet to receive it's first dose, vaccines should be first given to them.

The WHO has said that it is not currently recommending the use of a third dose.

The common vaccines currently in use all over the world are

- Pfizer mRNA 

- Moderna mRNA

- Astra Zeneca Oxford/ Covishield

- Sputnik - Russia

- Sinovac- China

- J&J - Janssen

- Covaxin - India

Vulnerable Persons

There is a proposal to give a third dose to vulnerable persons.

Israel has started doing so already. France has also started giving a third dose to some persons.

These would include

  • The Elderly-may be those 80 years and above
  • The Immune compromised
  • Transplant patients
  • Renal disease
  • Cancer patients, especially those on Chemotherapy

Considerations

The following considerations will determine whether we will need a third dose

  • The duration of a robust immune response as measured in the vaccinated population over time
  • Some vaccines may offer better long term protection than others
  • Mutations - if the virus multiplies rapidly in any population subset the chances of mutation rise. Will the vaccine be effective against successive mutated forms of the virus which arise in the future?

Recent research indicates that the Astra Zeneca vaccine (Covishield in India) may give lifelong immunity.

Research is ongoing to produce a common vaccine against the Beta Coronavirus family - one that would protect against all beta coronaviruses as well as their variants. 

Till then our best hope of not needing a third dose is to ensure further dangerous mutations do not happen. And the best way of doing that is to stop/ slow the spread of the virus by following all our Covid appropriate protocols.

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