«Greece’s »aggressive« approach, as well as that of other countries such as the United Kingdom, to limit the time interval between the completion of the primary vaccination series and the administration of a third booster dose against COVID-19 to three months, appears to be linked to political decisions by governments aimed at preventing a new sweeping wave of hospitalizations, with all that this entails. Other countries are taking a more »moderate” approach, such as France, Italy, and Australia, which have shortened the interval but still maintain a five-month interval. And there are others—most notably the U.S., Germany, and even South Africa—that have maintained the original six-month recommendation.
Scientists’ concerns include, among other things, the harm that frequent, continuous vaccination might cause to the general population, the vast majority of whom naturally possess a robust immune system against viruses, including the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. It is this immune defense that allows most people to be either asymptomatic or to experience only mild symptoms for 2–3 weeks, such as a low-grade fever, temporary loss of smell and/or taste, etc.
Dimitris Karousis, a Greek professor of neuroimmunology at Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, spoke in detail about the topic on iatronet.. As was also noted in Israel, the administration of the third dose protected the population from the rapid resurgence of the Delta variant last August and September. However, he is reluctant to say that the same will happen in our country once those who have received a third dose exceed 30% of the population (which is expected by the end of the year, based on current vaccination rates). The reason is the unpredictable factor of Omicron.
At the same time, it warns that it is important to take into account, for the fourth or even fifth dose (specialized vaccines against Omicron are expected in the spring), their impact on the body’s natural immune mechanism—its innate immunity. As he notes, a frequent vaccination policy may have consequences similar to those of excessive antibiotic use.
«The fact that more than 90% of those infected with the coronavirus experience only mild symptoms is largely due to natural immunity. It takes at least 3 weeks for specific antibodies to develop. Therefore, those who have had the disease for 2 or 3 weeks and have recovered or had very mild symptoms did so because of natural immunity… But why does this often not work well? Because we’ve overused antibiotics, we’re exposed to a lot of radiation, we experience excessive stress, and we’ve weakened our innate immunity. So now, if we constantly provide stimuli and ready-made antibodies through excessive vaccination, our innate immunity will begin to atrophy.».
At the same time, she reiterates that she is clearly in favor of administering the third dose, and the reservations she expresses concern the reduction of the time interval between the second and third doses to 3 months, which is also the choice of the Greek government, among others. «I’m not saying no to the third dose in general, but I am saying that, for example, I would prefer it not to be administered at such a short interval—such as 3, 4, or 5 months, but perhaps a period of more than 6 months is safe based on the data we have. Yes, it will have an effect in the short term—if we administer it now, say in 3 months, it will be effective—but we also need to consider the long term. We need to think this through carefully before deciding on a fourth and fifth dose.».
