Fourth Covid shot may be necessary in the fall, says health expert
A fourth shot of the vaccine against the coronavirus may be necessary in the fall, according to the professor of pediatric infectious diseases and member of the committee of experts advising the government Vana Papaevangelou during a press briefing on the pandemic on Thursday.
“The effectiveness and duration of the third dose is greater than the first two doses, so there is no reason for great anxiety. We are studying the data and we will wait a while and work with other countries,” she said, adding that “most of us believe a repeat dose of the vaccine will be needed in the autumn, but it is still early.”
She also said that based on the mathematical models, the pandemic wave of the Omicron BA2 variant of the coronavirus will peak in the coming days, warning this could lead to increased hospital admissions in the coming weeks.
Moreover, Papaevangelou said that although there has been a stabilization in the number of confirmed cases in Greece compared to previous weeks, there has been a shift of infections to older people, resulting in an increase in hospitalizations.
There are, she said, 176,000 active cases, but it is possible to underestimate the situation as some positive self-test samples are not accompanied by laboratory confirmation, and therefore are not reported to the National Organization for Public Health (EODY).
