Giving a third dose of a coronavirus vaccine to residents and staff of residential care centres would be beneficial, Belgium's Public Health Institute Sciensano said Wednesday, basing their conclusion on the PICOV-VAC study conducted in January in two care centres in the country.
While all participants, young and old, made antibodies against the coronavirus after receiving two doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, the study found that the number of antibodies made after receiving the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine was much higher in people who had been infected with Covid-19 before vaccination.
Residents at the centres who had not had the coronavirus prior to vaccination had the lowest amount of antibodies after two doses of the vaccine.
The results underscore the importance of giving two doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine to people who have not had the coronavirus before, Sciensano said.
They may also lead to the administration of a third dose of vaccine to residents of residential care facilities who have not yet had Covid-19.
The researchers caution, however, that the amount of antibodies, while generally critical, is not the only factor that plays a role in the development of immunity.
The study was conducted by Sciensano, ULB, the Institute of Tropical Medicine, ULiège and Mensura.
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The Brussels Times
