What the National Vaccination Committee recommends for booster dose with updated twin vaccines

The National Vaccination Committee issued its recommendation today regarding the administration of a booster dose using the updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccines.
As is well known, the updated bivalent vaccines have recently been approved by the relevant regulatory agencies and are administered exclusively as a booster dose. Therefore, the primary vaccination series* must be completed before the updated bivalent vaccine can be administered.

It is recommended that a booster dose be administered using the updated bivalent vaccines (BA.1, BA.4/BA.5) against the coronavirus at least 3 months after the last vaccine dose or recovery from COVID-19:

• All individuals aged 60 and older

• For individuals aged 12–59 who belong to high-risk groups, as determined by their treating physician

• To residents and employees of nursing homes or other care facilities for the chronically ill

• To healthcare professionals

-People living with individuals who are immunocompromised or have another underlying medical condition

• To caregivers of people with medical conditions that increase the risk of complications from the coronavirus

For clarity:

• Individuals who have already received the second booster dose of the monovalent vaccines and belong to the above groups may receive the updated bivalent vaccines (provided that at least 3 months have elapsed).

• Individuals who became ill after receiving the second booster dose of the monovalent vaccines have no contraindications and may be vaccinated with the updated bivalent vaccines with the consent of their treating physician.

• The option of receiving a second or third booster dose with bivalent, updated vaccines is offered on an individualized basis to individuals aged 30 to 59 who do not fallto the above categories, with the consent of their treating physician.

It is emphasized once again that timely vaccination of the above groups with the updated bivalent vaccines is more important than the type of vaccine that will be administered.

*The primary vaccination series consists of two doses of the monovalent mRNA vaccines or the protein-based vaccine, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine for the general population and three doses of the monovalent mRNA vaccines for immunocompromised patients.