Need of hospitalisation extremely low with two or three COVID-19 jabs - Zacher

Based on our own clinical experiences, one in every eight or nine people in intensive care units is vaccinated

, stated Zacher, news portal index.hu reported on Friday. You can end up in hospital with two or three jabs, but chances of that are extremely slim, he added.  

Dobson said a better strategy than third doses is yet to be found. It can be either a heterologous or homologous series. (The heterologous series is when a different vaccine platform is used as the third dose, while the homologous uses the same vaccine product as the first two doses.) In Hungary, they use mostly the former, but at request they do administer the same vaccine product as on the first two occasions.

Dobson stressed that both series showed good results. Due to the lack of data, however, it is unclear at this point how certain vaccines perform as third (booster) doses, he added.

It has been raised recently whether receiving Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine Janssen after two shots of Russia's Sputnik V is a good idea or not, because both of them are adenoviral vector vaccines. Dobson said German and Austria recommends Janssen to be the booster dose for elderly people, and in Russia they administer Sputnik V as the third jab, and it appears to be working.

Dobson highlighted that adolescents and children should also be inoculated against coronavirus. In post-vaccination cases inflammations tend to be mild and seldom become serious health issues.

Addressing the possibility of needing fourth doses Dobson said he does not see serious risks in this respect. The risk of adverse effects has not increased even with third jabs. It would be advisable to have national recommendations, so that this responsibility would be taken off doctors' shoulders.  

Gov't would not tighten restrictions, relies solely on vaccines

The government keeps betting on vaccination despite the alarming rate at which the number of daily new COVID-19 cases and related hospitalisations has been rising.

There are numerous international examples showing that a combination of COVID-19 jabs and restriction measures are the most effective way to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Stressing the importance of getting vaccinated has proven rather futile so far.

There is no progress in the vaccination campaign. People that have been fully vaccinated in the basic protocol seek third doses, but even that growth rate needs to be higher, while those that have refused to get their shots are not changing their minds en masse despite the worsening epidemiological situation. And there's also the issue of the waning effectiveness of vaccines to consider...

The government made mask-wearing mandatory in public transport and authorised companies to make vaccination compulsory, but that's about as far as new restrictions go. Oh, it also ordered hospitals to put off elective surgeries.

The cabinet also announced a one-week vaccination campaign where people can get their first, second or third jab without prior online registration. What he cannot understand, and what has not been explained by anyone so far, is why the cabinet waits TWO AND A HALF WEEKS for the campaign to start on 22 November.

Cover photo: MTI/György Varga