Who should get the "fourth shot" of the vaccine? How to get it? Experts respond

Recently, the Comprehensive Group of the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council issued a plan to deploy the second dose of booster vaccination. Who should get the "fourth shot" of the vaccine? What vaccine should be given as the "fourth shot"? Experts from the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council answered questions about hot social concerns.

1. Question: Who should receive the second dose of booster vaccination?

Answer: At this stage, high-risk groups such as the elderly continue to face the risk of infection, and vaccination is an important measure and means of epidemic prevention and control.

In order to better protect the physical health and life safety of the people, according to the development of vaccines and the approval of emergency use, people at high risk of infection, people over 60 years old, people with serious underlying diseases and people with low immunity can receive the second dose of booster vaccination 6 months after completing the first dose of booster vaccination.

2. Question: What is the purpose of booster vaccinations now?

Answer: The protective effects produced after vaccination with the new coronavirus vaccine mainly include: producing antibodies, cellular immunity, and immune memory, etc.

After vaccination, antibody levels will decrease over time. In addition, as the virus mutates, immune escape is also increasing, which weakens the effect of antibodies. However, cellular immunity plays a more lasting role in preventing severe illness and death.

Studies have shown that booster shots can awaken the body's immune memory cells and increase antibody levels, further consolidating the prevention of severe illness and death. As long as they meet the vaccination conditions, those who have not completed the booster shot should complete the booster shot as soon as possible according to the immunization program to achieve better protection.

3. Question: Which vaccines can be used for the second booster dose?

A: All 13 vaccines that have been approved for conditional marketing or emergency use can be used for the second booster dose. Sequential booster doses or vaccines containing Omicron strains or with good cross immunity to Omicron strains are recommended.

Sequential booster immunization refers to heterologous booster immunization using vaccines of different technical routes. If three doses of inactivated vaccine have been administered in the early stage, any of the recombinant protein vaccine, adenovirus vector vaccine or influenza virus vector vaccine can be selected for the second booster immunization, which is also the recommended vaccination combination listed by the state.

4. Question: How safe is vaccination?

Answer: The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted adverse reaction monitoring on more than 3.4 billion doses administered in more than 1.3 billion people in my country and found that the incidence rate of adverse reactions to my country's new coronavirus vaccine is comparable to that of some other vaccines administered throughout the year, and the incidence rate of adverse reactions in the elderly is slightly lower than that in young people.

For the elderly, the "Work Plan for Strengthening COVID-19 Vaccination for the Elderly" specifies four contraindications to vaccination. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension can be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they are in a stable stage.

5. Question: Can I get a second dose of booster vaccination if I test positive?

Answer: According to the current technical guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination, if a person is confirmed to be infected with the COVID-19, the time between infection and COVID-19 vaccination should be at least 6 months.

At present, the immune protection generated by infection alone is not as strong as the combined immunity generated by infection and vaccination. If the interval between vaccinations is met, a second dose of booster vaccination is recommended.

Source: Beijing Daily Client