For a fourth vaccination, the last corona infection or the first booster vaccination must be at least six months ago, according to the condition of the Standing Vaccination Commission.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The Standing Committee on Vaccination (Stiko) plans to recommend the fourth vaccination to all people aged 60-69. This emerges from a draft decision by the Stiko on vaccination recommendations, which is available to the Handelsblatt. The “image” had reported about it. The responsible Robert Koch Institute (RKI) did not want to comment on the draft decision when asked.
The last corona infection or the first booster vaccination must be at least six months ago for a fourth vaccination, according to the condition. The Stiko has been asked several times in recent weeks to expand its recommendation.
So far, the Stiko recommends the fourth vaccination for people over 70 years of age and risk groups. The EU health authority ECDC and the European Medicines Agency EMA recommend the fourth vaccination for everyone over the age of 60.
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said on Sunday that she expected a clear recommendation for further action. “There will practically only be a fourth vaccination for the population if there is a Stiko recommendation for it. Because only then will the doctors implement it.”
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Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), in turn, had repeatedly asked Stiko to make a recommendation for all age groups for whom a fourth vaccination would make sense. He called the move on Twitter an “important step in the right direction”.
In the draft decision, the Stiko only writes that people under the age of 60 would not benefit significantly from a fourth vaccination “according to the current state of knowledge”. An exception are people over the age of five with an “increased risk” of a severe course of the disease.
In order to achieve optimal protection in the population, according to Stiko, a campaign for the fourth vaccination should also start in mid-September. It is also recommended not to wait for the adapted vaccines.
The European approval of the new vaccines against the Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.5 is expected in September, as Lauterbach announced on Friday. This is due on September 1st for BA.1 and September 27th for BA.5.
The vaccines could be delivered on the following day. “The federal government has procured both vaccines in sufficient quantities,” said Lauterbach.
More: Fourth vaccination in autumn: How Lauterbach wants to take precautions for new corona waves.