COVID-19: Regulator considers extra boosters as Lagos mulls a third shot for consumers

*The Lagos State Government discloses some people who are fully vaccinated with two vaccine doses will still catch COVID-19 infection, some others will get quite sick while  occasionally, some people may die

*A vaccination reduces ‘long Covid’ symptoms, say researchers

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

As vaccinations against the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic get underway in several countries across the world, a United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee has said it will meet Thursday, October 14, 2021, to consider whether booster shots of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson Vaccines are needed for American consumers.

ConsumerConnect gathered that the FDA earlier had released briefing documents in which the two drug companies make a case for their respective boosters.

Moderna said its clinical trial showed that a third shot of its vaccine, using about half the dose as the first shot, had minimal side effects and increased recipients’ immune response, agency report said.

The drug maker though noted that the booster is needed because of the rapid spread of the Delta variant, but the FDA has declined to consider it at the present time, saying it may be unnecessary.

Similarly, Johnson & Johnson said its analysis indicated a favourable risk-benefit balance when people 18 and older got its booster.

It said high-risk individuals could benefit when getting the second shot just two months after the first.

Vaccines help reduce ‘long Covid’, say researchers

In a related development, ever since the outbreak of the damaging pandemic late 2019, some people who got the Coronavirus infection and recovered continued to suffer symptoms for months afterward.

When the vaccines became available, many “long Covid” sufferers told their doctors they felt better after getting the shot, report stated.

Researchers now say that receiving a vaccination appears to help alleviate existing symptoms, at least in some patients. Researchers also say that getting a vaccination may reduce the risk of having long-lasting symptoms in the first place.

A study published in the British medical journal The Lancet September this year  determined that fully-vaccinated people who later got infected were about 50 percent less likely to develop long-term symptoms than unvaccinated people with COVID-19.

Employees are returning to the workplace, but it’s happening at a slower-than-expected pace, according to report.

Lagos Government considers a third shot for residents

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government (LASG) of Nigeria has suggested a third shot of the Coronavirus vaccines for the vaccinated consumers in the cosmopolitan state in the country.

ConsumerConnect reports Prof. Akin Abayomi, Honourable Commissioner for Health in Lagos State, disclosed this development a media briefing Tuesday, October 12, 2021, in Ikeja, the state capital.

Prof. Abayomi noted despite being vaccinated against the Coronavirus disease, Nigerians yet, may be required to take extra shots of the vaccine to stay safe.

The Commissioner said: “So we know that the vaccine is certainly protecting the population from severe disease and death.

“The question is, as the virus is changing, it may require that we need to give you more than two doses.”

He further said: “You may require a booster which is the first, second and subsequent doses because we have also discovered that even though the vaccine stops you from getting seriously sick, it may not necessarily stop you from catching Covid.

“We do know that some people even who are fully vaccinated with two doses will still catch Covid and some people will get quite sick and occasionally, some people may die. “But certainly, the people that are dying who are not vaccinated are much higher than the people who are dying who have been vaccinated.”

According to Abayomi explained, the Lagos State Government plans to vaccinate 30 percent of Lagos residents by the end of 2021.

Scientists around the world are toying with the idea that a third or fourth dose may be required, stated he.

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