EU’s drug panel gives nod to Covid-19 booster shot for immunocompromised

In a statement, the European Medicines Agency stated that studies showed an extra dose of the Covid-19 vaccine strengthens the ability to produce antibodies against the virus in “organ transplant patients with weakened immune systems.”

The European Union’s (EU) drug watchdog on Monday gave a nod to a booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for individuals with weak immune systems, according to agencies.

In a statement, the European Medicines Agency said that the Covid-19 booster dose is 'expected" to increase protection against the virus “at least in some patients.”

The drug panel stated that the booster jabs of either Pfizer or Moderna can be administered to those vulnerable at least 28 days after the second jab. Meanwhile, the Pfizer booster doses can be inoculated to all adults at least six months after their second Covid-19 shot.

In a statement, the European Medicines Agency cited studies showing that an extra dose of the coronavirus vaccine increases the ability to generate antibodies against the virus (SARS-CoV-2) causing the disease in “organ transplant patients with weakened immune systems.” “It is expected that the extra dose would increase protection at least in some patients,” the statement added.

The move comes after the US authorities in August gave a go-ahead for Covid-19 booster shots, claiming that data available to them has made it “very clear” that protection against the virus begins to wear off over time after an individual is jabbed with the initial shots of the vaccine.

“In association with the dominance of the Delta variant we are starting to see evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease,” the country’s top officials, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky and US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, had said in a statement.

Several EU member states such as Austria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia, among others, have approved Covid-19 booster shots. Austria is going to commence a wider rollout from October 17 onwards, according to Reuters.

Canada has recommended authorised mRNA Covid-19 booster shots to those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, the Reuters report added.

The matter of Covid-19 booster doses have not gone down well with the World Health Organisation (WHO), whose director-general Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for a moratorium on the same, citing that several poor or less-developed countries are yet to inoculate the first dose of the vaccine to their nationals. The public health agency addressed this issue yet again recently by announcing that its Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) will allocate vaccines to the “least covered countries only” for October – a first-of-a-kind move.