Breakthroughs, Omikron and Vaccination Mix – The Most Important Questions and Answers About Booster Vaccination – News

The number of hospital admissions due to Covid-19 continues to rise. One way to fight this is booster vaccinations. This is highly recommended for seniors especially before Christmas. But the first cantons are already facing a “vaccination attack”.

What does booster vaccination bring? On Tuesday, Urs Karrer, deputy chair of the national Covid-19 scientific task force, reiterated that 10,000 to 20,000 hospitalizations could be prevented if a third dose was given to everyone who had been vaccinated twice. Carrier also said that at least one percent of all vaccinated people should now receive a daily booster dose.

Are the cantons still catching up? The rush toward booster vaccinations is great. But not all cantons are making equal progress. Canton Basel-Stadt currently has the highest third-party vaccination rate, and the cantons of Zurich, Berne and Aargau are also making good progress. The situation is different in the cantons of Jura, Neuchâtel, Fribourg and Valais. They have now asked for help from the army.

What time is the booster medication? The guideline for a booster dose is six months after the second dose. According to German immunologist Carsten Watzl, even after eight months, the risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19 is still fairly small. However, the older a person is and the more individual risk factors are, the more important it is to update protection against vaccination. Each canton decides for itself when to register for the third vaccination dose, and pregnant women are advised to receive the booster vaccination from the second trimester (from the twelfth week).

What vaccine should be boosted? In principle, it is possible to boost yourself with a vaccine from another manufacturer. Whenever possible, FOPH recommends getting the vaccine from the same manufacturer. Virginie Masseri, head of infection control at FOPH, told the media on Tuesday, because there is still no clear data on whether the combination of the two mRNA vaccines provides better protection. Only mRNA-boosted vaccinations are currently permitted. However, anyone who has been vaccinated with a vector vaccine, for example from Johnson & Johnson, can also be boosted with an mRNA vaccine.

Should I wait for the Omicron modification? No, no one should wait. Because at the moment it is not entirely clear when the vaccines adapted to Omikron will come – and it is also allowed to give it. The process could take months, emphasizes Daniel Teese, Science Editor at SRF: “We are currently still interested in Delta. The bottom line is the wave effect at this point in time. The current booster will also have an effect against Omikron, preliminary data from the lab supports this thesis. “. It remains to be seen whether it is necessary to use a special omicron booster at a later time.

Booster despite breakthrough vaccination? Anyone who has contracted coronavirus even though they have been fully vaccinated and had an amazing vaccine can receive a boost. In this case, it is recommended to wait six months after infection. Because the vaccination breakthrough has already boosted the immune system.