German commission recommends 4th COVID-19 shot

By Web Desk — German expert panel on vaccine use (STIKO) is preparing to recommend a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine, its head Thomas Mertens told media group Funke on Thursday.

Mertens told Funke, “Data from Israel shows that a fourth dose significantly improves protection.” “The STIKO will make the recommendation soon,” he said.

The panel would recommend booster shots only for vaccines that are already available, Mertens said.
For vaccines that have been adapted to work against the omicron coronavirus variant, STIKO will have to wait for clinical data from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, according to the media group.

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Although some countries have already begun offering additional booster doses, a recent study from Israel revealed that while the fourth dose of an mRNA vaccine boosted antibodies, they were not high enough to prevent the infection.