The third dose against Corona .. Can it be taken from a different vaccine?

The United States Food and Drug Administration recently authorized the booster dose of Pfizer’s emerging corona virus vaccine to be administered to the elderly and those at risk of serious illness, but the recommendations have raised many questions and concerns. among the groups that are not eligible to obtain them, and whether this is considered to be discrimination that affects their safety and health.

And the pharmaceutical authority had approved the third dose in a bid to improve protection for Americans most vulnerable against the virus’s rapidly spreading Delta mutant.

According to the new recommendations, the third dose of Pfizer vaccine will be given to people over 65 and people at risk of serious illness between the ages of 18 and 64, as well as workers in places with high exposure to the virus, such as hospitals. and health centers.

The authority stressed that the additional dose of Pfizer vaccine should be administered six months after receiving the two base doses.

However, some doctors and experts believe the FDA recommendations have left too much room to determine who is actually eligible for the booster dose, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Here, New York University Langone primary care physician Mark Feirstein explains that the reason for the confusion, in his words, is the emergence of many health officials and experts to say “something every day. different ”on this issue, while Laura Morris, a family doctor in Fulton, Missouri, reported that some patients have been asking for reminders all summer, especially if they are really needed.

fetal health

A 33-year-old woman from Washington, DC, Lucy Ballentin, said she was pregnant, arguing that her pregnancy could put her in the category of those eligible for a third dose, adding, “But the FDA recommendations don’t. were not saying explicitly. “

Lucy says she is interested in a booster, but she wants to know if she should get one before giving birth or wait until after giving birth.

She concluded by saying that she had received the dose now, and that it would make her happy as she would transfer as many antibodies as possible to her fetus.

On the other hand, some doctors have noted that the “biggest gray areas” regarding booster doses are for people between the ages of 18 and 49, and in that regard, Morris explains, that this group of people may have. need to get more advice, and take a look Consider the risks that beset each individual individually.

Another group of doctors believes that it is important to take into account the nature of the profession, place of work and residence for this group of 18 to 49 years and to take this into account when deciding if they really need reminders or not.

Morris notes that she has a patient this age who is caring for her severely immunocompromised mother and that she wanted a booster to protect her mother from infection.

And she continued, “At first I advised her to postpone this, but now I advise her to receive the third dose.”
Cameron Wolf, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Duke University Health System, says the guidelines give clinicians great flexibility for this age group.

“How long to wait?”

Many people are not eligible for the dose and are still wondering when they can, including Lauren Leibovitz, a 41-year-old real estate agent based in Lower Merrion, PA.

“I would love to have it now even though I don’t have an underlying health condition as a chronic illness, but if they tell me I can, I’ll be first on the line,” he said. she told the Wall Street Journal.

Leibovitz had contracted Covid-19 disease in August last year and was vaccinated this year, adding: “I never want to suffer from this disease again.”

Erica Ike, a 20-year-old student at Boston University who received the second dose of Pfizer in June, wants to know when she can get a booster dose and if it will be available to people her age.

On the reason for her desire to receive the third dose, she said: “I study in face-to-face, not at a distance, and I live in a big city, and therefore I would like to have more protection.”