Expert: Omicron vaccine does not deliver what it promised

The Standing Vaccination Commission already recommends the fourth vaccination for certain groups. Data from Israel now show that this might not be enough either. An expert assessment.

How long does the protection against infection last after a corona vaccination? One thing is clear: it decreases quickly in certain risk groups. The Standing Vaccination Commission already recommends a second booster – i.e. the fourth vaccination for:

A second booster vaccination is currently recommended for them no earlier than three months after the first booster. For staff in medical and nursing facilities, especially those with direct patient or resident contact, a recommendation applies at the earliest six months later.

Fourth vaccination from 60?

The reason for this is: “The available data on the effectiveness of the (…) vaccines suggest that the effectiveness of a 1st booster vaccination against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections of the omicron variant is significantly lower than against infections with others so far circulating virus variants. In addition, the vaccination protection is only of limited duration and is continuously declining.”

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) recently advocated a fourth vaccination for people over 60 years of age. However, the EU health authorities initially rejected this. In the USA, however, the fourth booster has already been approved for people over the age of 50.

Protection wears off quickly

But now data from Israel shows that the protection after the fourth vaccination is apparently very limited in time. The protection against infection decreases after four weeks, but the protection against serious illnesses was still stable six weeks later. The study examined data from the Israeli health authorities on 1.3 million people over the age of 60 during a period in which the omicron variant was dominant. A fifth vaccination is apparently now being planned.

t-online asked the immunologist Andreas Radbruch. He is Scientific Director of the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin and advises, among other things, the Health Committee of the Bundestag.

t-online: After the fourth then the fifth vaccination – isn’t the immune system exhausted at some point?

Andreas Radbruch: That’s the case for the vast majority of the population. However, for a very small minority, it may make sense to vaccinate them again. The Stiko has just published very detailed recommendations here (you can find the recommendations here, editor’s note). We are well on the way to “personal” vaccination recommendations, which I very much welcome.

However, there will always be people who do not react to the vaccines because their immune system is defective or has to be suppressed for medical reasons. Luckily for these people there is now the possibility of treating them with protective antibodies, also preventively. So a classic “passive” vaccination, something like Emil von Behring developed for tetanus more than 100 years ago.

Is it worth waiting for Moderna’s Omicron-modified vaccine for the fourth vaccination, or even fifth vaccination? Does he keep what he promised?

No, Moderna’s Omicron-adapted vaccine worked just as well as the original in initial trials on monkeys, but no better. A good sign from an immunological point of view, because it shows that the original vaccine already induces a broad immunity, which also includes Omikron, although Omikron has already changed a lot compared to the previous variants.

To whom would you now recommend the fourth vaccination?

Personally, I wouldn’t necessarily be vaccinated for the fourth time now, but would wait and see how the pandemic develops until autumn. It’s an individual decision.

What’s your prognosis? Omikron is the most successful corona variant so far. She managed to be so contagious that sooner or later everyone will get infected. Is this a virus going backwards? Will it become more dangerous again and thus rob itself of the opportunity to spread indefinitely because people are isolating themselves again for fear of serious illness?

No, I don’t think so. Well, you don’t know if the sky will fall on earth tomorrow either, but that’s roughly how I would estimate the probability. Corona is now becoming endemic. It doesn’t mean everything will be fine, but it does give us a chance to live with it.

No, I don’t think so. Well, you don’t know if the sky will fall on earth tomorrow either, but that’s roughly how I would estimate the probability. Corona is now becoming endemic. It doesn’t mean everything will be fine, but it does give us a chance to live with it.

With a vaccination rate of over 80 percent among those over 60 who have been vaccinated three times, the vulnerable population group is very well protected, with broad immunity also against future variants. And if a new variant breaks through this broad protection, we can now very quickly produce new vaccines that also protect us against such variants.