People who took COVID-19 may need to be vaccinated only once, studies suggest

Six recent studies suggest that people who have already taken COVID-19 may not need a second dose of the vaccine.

The federal government has not changed its recommendation for a second dose, but studies that analyze the immune response show that while the first injection gives people who have recovered from COVID-19 a great boost, the second injection makes little difference.

“I think it makes perfect sense,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia.

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For someone who took COVID-19, the first injection is like a naive person for COVID-19 receiving a booster – they even have the side effects of someone receiving a second dose of the vaccine, he said.

“You could reasonably argue that people who can prove they have been infected – that is, they have antibodies to the virus – could reasonably receive just one dose,” said Offit.

There is no danger of getting a second chance for anyone who has had COVID-19, said Florian Krammer, who led one of the recent studies. But it may not bring any benefit for the time and stress required to make a reservation, to and from a vaccination site and to see the needle enter.

And each person who doesn’t need a second chance means a first chance for someone else.

The challenge will be to identify who does not need the second dose, he and others said.

“Implementation may not be so easy,” said Krammer, professor of microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine on Mount Sinai in New York City.

Anyone who received a formal diagnosis of COVID-19 – not just people who felt bad for a few days and assumed they had it – or people who have antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 could presumably skip a second injection.

Last spring, antibody tests were not always reliable, Krammer said, but those still on the market are good now, although it remains unclear whether a certain level of antibody is needed to be protected.

Antibody tests, also known as serology tests, detect proteins made by the immune system in response to an infection.

According to the Krammer study, published earlier this month, but not yet peer-reviewed, a previously infected person receiving the first injection has an immune response similar to someone who did not have COVID-19 the second. They even have the side effects of a second injection with the first.

And that second photo adds little extra protection, the study found.

“Changing the policy to give these individuals just one dose of the vaccine would not have a negative impact on antibody titers, saving them from unnecessary pain and releasing the many necessary doses of vaccine urgently,” he concluded.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote about the study on his weekly blog.

“While much more research is needed – and I am definitely not suggesting a change from the current recommendations now – the results raise the possibility that one dose may be sufficient for someone who has been infected with SARS-CoV-2 and has already generated antibodies against the virus, “wrote Collins.

“But any serious consideration of this option will require more data. It will also be up to expert advisers from the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to decide,” he added.

It is unclear exactly how much extra data or what kind of information would be enough to convince regulators.

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Another of the new studies, a preprint from the University of Maryland, showed that 41 health workers who recovered from COVID-19 had more antibodies after the first injection than 69 of their colleagues who did not catch the virus after the second.

And a preprint from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that the blood of people who recovered from COVID-19 was not as good at neutralizing the original virus or variant originating in South Africa as the blood of people who recovered from it. recovered and were vaccinated. Three other studies have had similar results.

Each of the six studies released publicly this month addresses the issue in a different way, but “they basically show the same thing,” said Krammer, “they are confirming themselves”.

Contact Karen Weintraub at [email protected].

USA TODAY health and safety coverage is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Health. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial contributions.

© Damian Dovarganes / AP
Los Angeles health professionals administer the COVID-19 vaccination on February 24.

This article was originally published in USA TODAY: People who took COVID-19 may need to be vaccinated only once, studies suggest