European health officials say it’s too early to consider offering a fourth dose of mRNA coronavirus vaccines to most people, but say an additional booster can be given to people over 80.
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the European Medicines Agency and the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention said they had reviewed data for a fourth dose of the vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Inc. They include live data. Israel, where studies have shown that a second booster offers marginally higher protection.
“There is currently no evidence in the EU that vaccine protection against severe symptoms is substantially waning in adults with normal immune systems aged 60 to 79 years,” the agencies said. But they acknowledged that if the pandemic situation changes, it would be necessary to consider a second booster for that group.
For adults younger than 60 with no underlying health problems, “there is currently no conclusive evidence that vaccine protection against severe symptoms is fading or that there is additional value in a fourth dose,” they said.
The recommendation contrasts with guidance issued by the US Food and Drug Administration, which decided last week that people 5 years and older can get a second booster if it has been at least four months since their last vaccination.
Later, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended an additional booster as an option, but did not call for those eligible to rush into it. That decision expanded the additional dose to millions more people in the country.
The European recommendations come as many countries on the continent have lifted most of their pandemic restrictions and are facing a surge in cases created by an infectious omicron subvariant, BA.2. This variant, with lighter symptoms, has not increased the number of hospitalizations and deaths as in the previous ones, and the authorities in many countries hope that the high immunization rates will prevent major problems for society.
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