The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, said this Thursday that, in principle, a fourth dose of the vaccine against Covid-19, or a second booster dose, should start “before the beginning of the following autumn and winter”, although it could be offered if necessary.
At a press conference held by the Council of Ministers, the person in charge of this matter was asked: “It is known that the authority issued a set of guidelines on this subject, and the Technical Committee for Immunization of the DGS considered that this, under recommendation, should be reinforced at the moment before the entry of autumn and winter the following two.
He noted in the same statement that “in this context, of course, the technical structures of the Ministry of Health continue to monitor the development of the effectiveness of the vaccine, in the sense of measuring possible decreases that may justify the expectation of the booster dose.”
These statements come after a pulmonologist Raquel Duartewho leads the government’s advisory group, said that “It is necessary to “expect the second booster dose, or the fourth dose, because the majority of this population is over 65 years of age and has been vaccinated for a longer time”.
“We have reached a stabilization stage, which is largely the result of the protective factor of the vaccine, as the first booster dose is associated with a significant reduction in severe forms of the disease – that is, we do not have a significant effect in terms of hospitalization or mortality,” he explained, citing “DN.”
“So I would say that the current scenario poses a need, which is to protect older and more vulnerable populations, who are more susceptible to severe forms of the disease,” continued Raquel Duarte.
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