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The adapted bivalent vaccine will be rolled out as a booster early next month. Shutterstock/Pete Hansen

Explainer: What you need to know about the new adapted Covid vaccines heading into winter

Professor of Immunology Christine Loscher says the new jabs work ‘specifically against Omicron’.

HEALTH MINISTER STEPHEN Donnelly recently announced that new ‘adapted bivalent’ Covid vaccines are to be rolled out early next month.

And while Professor of Immunology Christine Loscher says the emergency phase of the Covid pandemic is behind us, she’s cautioned that there are still good reasons to get the vaccine and booster jabs.

So what is an ‘adapted bivalent’ vaccine?

The adapted bivalent vaccine encodes the spike protein of the original virus strain, as well as a spike protein of an Omicron subvariant, providing broader immunisation against Covid-19.

Speaking to The Journal, Christine Loscher said the new vaccine is “more specific to provide an immunity to Omicron variants” and will offer “better protection”.

Loscher says the original vaccines have offered good protection against the virus but that the additional piece in the bivalent vaccine is “specifically against Omicron”.

She explained: “We’ll definitely get more antibodies, a first line of protection against getting Omicron, and we’ll also get an additional build-up of immunity in the body in general.

“There is specificity about the new parts of the vaccine that means that you get better antibodies to Omicron, but there’s also a body of evidence that shows that the original vaccine gave really good background immunity to reducing severity and death.

“So it’s almost like you’d be able to do both with this vaccine.”

While the other vaccines “still provide a really high level of protection,” she says the adapted bivalent vaccine offers “additional protection” for those who may need it and that not “everybody necessarily needs an even higher level of protection”.

So who does need an ‘even higher level of protection’?

The vaccine has been recommended and approved for use here as booster doses only, and will not be used for the primary vaccination course.

While a booster vaccine is recommended to everyone aged 12 and over, additional boosters are only recommended to:

  • 65s and over
  • People aged 50 to 64
  • People aged over 12 who are at high risk of severe illness
  • People aged over 12 in a long-term care facility
  • Healthcare workers
  • Pregnant women (over 16 weeks)

These vaccines are set to be rolled out from early October, on foot of advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC).

The HSE will include adapted bivalent booster vaccines in the Vaccination Programme alongside the commencement of the flu vaccine programme.

Anyone who is eligible for both a flu vaccine and a Covid booster vaccine can receive them at the same time once it’s been at least four months since their last Covid-19 vaccine or infection.

Loscher said the adapted bivalent vaccine is being rolled out predominantly as a booster dose to vulnerable cohorts and to those aged over 50.

If I’m due a booster, should I wait for the new vaccine?

No. NIAC advice is: “While bivalent booster vaccines may offer some advantage compared with the original vaccine, timely booster vaccination is more important than which vaccine is administered.”

And in a statement to The Journal, the HSE encouraged anyone who is eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine but has not yet received it to come forward as soon as possible.

Loscher also noted that the original vaccine still offers a high level of immunity.

Should I get a booster?

Ahead of the winter, Loscher says it’s a really good time for people who are eligible for a booster vaccine to get one.

“If we look at the way Omicron has behaved over the last year,” says the immunology professor, “we are likely to see a surge at some stage during the winter.

“So getting your booster onboard as quickly as possible, particularly if you’re over the age of 50, is a really good idea.”

While second boosters are only offered to certain cohorts currently, Loscher says this may change “with the decisions on the winter plan to minimise the impact on hospitalisations and healthcare”.

What is the ‘winter plan’?

While Loscher says the emergency phase of the pandemic is over, she warns that it “needs to be managed coming into the winter”.

“We know an awful lot about how Covid behaves, but we still don’t know what variants we’re going to be facing into next.

“We know that severity is not going to be a huge issue for most people and we got through the last surge without really tipping over the edge in terms of hospitalisations and ICUs.”

However, she warns: “That might be confounded coming into the winter time by the fact that flu will also be there and people can be immunosuppressed coming into the winter time.

“We’re all indoors more and the chance of indoor transmission is increased.”

While Loscher said “we’re in a very good position to have a really good winter plan about how we manage Covid,” she expressed concern that “our winter plan for managing Covid is still not very clear”.

In response, the HSE told The Journal that it has been “working on the Winter Plan over the last number of months to deal with the challenges expected this winter, including detailed vaccination plans”.

Its spokesperson added: “We are currently finalising this plan with the Department of Health. Some measures in the Winter Plan are already being advanced, pending finalisation and agreement of the overall plan.

“A range of initiatives are already being implemented as part of the National Service Plan to alleviate pressures in emergency care. These include additional beds and strengthening teams, such as the Community Care Teams.”

What happens if there is a winter surge?

Loscher describes the current situation, where most people “don’t really consider Covid in our daily lives in the way that we used to”, as appropriate for the phase we are in.

However, she expressed the need to have a plan in place for a potential surge, which may include wearing masks on public transport for a few weeks.

“At the moment, there’s no real reason for us to make huge changes in our everyday lives,” says Loscher.

She continues: “But when we go into a surge, there are small changes that we can make that can have an impact going into the winter months, we need to understand what is the plan around vaccination for the general population, as well as the cohorts that we talk about for boosters.”

She added that the “guidelines on how people should behave if we enter a surge needs to be communicated very clearly” and that the “last few times we’ve had surges, there’s been no real direction about whether the public should respond”.

Should I still be cautious about catching Covid?

Loscher says it is important to “consistently minimise the risk of getting Covid, not because of the impact of the infection anymore, but the impact of post-Covid”.

Post-Covid, Loscher said there has been an “explosion of literature” that shows people who contract the virus have “increased risk of cardiac events, mortality, and blood clotting”.

“We know that when you get a Covid infection, you’re potentially increasing risk for other healthcare issues afterwards.

“So I don’t think we should have a blasé attitude and say, ‘well, with immunity it’s fairly mild.’

“The scientific data is becoming stronger every day and we have to be very mindful that we have to still continue to minimise the risk of COVID when we have surges.”

Is Omicron a milder strain of Covid?

Loscher says there was a “perception” that the Omicron strain was causing a milder illness.

She added that this gave a “degree of reassurance” to those who had not yet been vaccinated that the Omicron strain was less severe.

However, she pointed to the example of Hong Kong, which ran out of morgue space following a deadly Omicron surge in March.

Loscher says Hong Kong had a “very poor vaccine uptake, which means they didn’t have much immunity across the population”.

The immunology professor says this reveals how the Omicron strain “is not very mild in a cohort of individuals that don’t have that level of immunity”.

“This variant can be detrimental to an individual if they have no immunity and vaccines will give you that immunity.

“So I think if anyone hasn’t availed to the vaccine, we are facing into a winter where we know there might be a bad flu on the scene.

“There’s still a real good reason for people who haven’t had a vaccine yet to get one.”

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:07 PM

    Again, the media pedal the Government story on average income being 51k. The most accurate statistic includes in the same report showed the median income (which represents 90 percent of the population) being less than 24k per year. A hell of a distance from the 51k figure the Journal and government are spinning.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:47 PM

    @DaMoons: while I agree there is a discrepancy, the figure quoted above is household income compared with your figure of individual income. Household income often combines 2 or more individual incomes as it is calculated based on total income divided by number of households, and not individuals.

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Nov 30th 2019, 8:15 PM

    @Brian Ó Dálaigh: Well, 2 incomes from the 90 percent quoted above still wouldn’t reach 51k. So it obviously points to 3rd and 4th earners living in the same household. Would it be a stretch for me to suggest that it is probably down to adult children not being able to afford somewhere to rent? FG were so proud of this statistic this week. Think about it.

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    Mute Brian Ó Dálaigh
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    Nov 30th 2019, 9:00 PM

    @DaMoons: I’d say you’d be pretty bang on the money (no pun intended) with that comment. The slightest bit of analysis into the figures and you’d wonder why Fine Gael would be proud of it. And, remember, these are average figures and not median figures which would far more accurately reflect the reality for the vast majority of people.

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    Mute Manbackonboard
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:03 PM

    Constantly broke.

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    Mute StillNotNews
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    Nov 30th 2019, 8:00 PM

    @Manbackonboard: Same, Keep the recovery going, For TDs.

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    Mute SC
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:06 PM

    With an average rent of 24k and childcare for one child 12k, that is just about enough for a small family. It’s not enough for two children.

    And assuming that’s the median, half of households have less. Is it any surprise we have a birth rate below replacement now?

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    Mute Finbarr Barry
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:20 PM

    @SC: and they are quoting disposable income… I. E income after all expenses such as mortgage/rent, utilities et. Etc are paid…. What a load of BS

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    Mute Finbarr Barry
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:23 PM

    @Finbarr Barry: https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/cso-figures-show-mean-disposable-income-is-now-almost-23000-967144.html

    CSO figures show average disposable income in 2018 was €23,000; 9.6% up on 2017

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    Mute Sos
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:32 PM

    @Finbarr Barry: disposable income is income after government tax has been paid. Discretionary income is income after bills have been paid. Given the very high cost of living here I would expect that to be a lot less.

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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:42 PM

    @SC: I’m delighted, we deserve it we keep voting for it……keep the rippoffs going lads there are legions of suckers who are stuffing your pockets full of cash and keep voting for you……dumb is an understatement.

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    Mute SC
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    Dec 1st 2019, 10:24 AM

    @Peter Hughes: the government has no power to interfere with the economy because it goes against EU rules in most situations (we can’t borrow to boost housing stock, we can’t subsidise rural industry to take pressure off the cities and keep our language alive etc) so it doesn’t make a difference who you vote for.

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    Mute keano
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    Dec 1st 2019, 10:37 AM

    @Finbarr Barry: no Finbarr I believe disposable incoming is your Income after Tax. Before Rent, mortgage, heat, light, etc etc. which would make it a lot more realistic figure and nothing to be proud of !

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    Mute Anastasia
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    Nov 30th 2019, 8:06 PM

    Spin spin spin the average wage is 20000 euro for a 38 hour week or am I working in the wrong place

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    Mute DaMoons
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    Nov 30th 2019, 8:36 PM

    @Anastasia: 90 percent of the people working in Ireland earn less than 24,000. This figure from the Government is pure spin.

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    Mute Brian Clancy
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    Nov 30th 2019, 9:06 PM

    @DaMoons: that’s rubbish anyway for a start

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    Mute John fitzpatrick
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    Dec 2nd 2019, 8:57 AM

    @DaMoons: so you are saying 90% are on minimum wage? Or are you saying that a huge portion of people are part time. What are you saying. What ever your saying it’s BS. But go , keep on plugging the SF agenda, 13% of the people believe you.

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    Mute Harry Trafford
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    Nov 30th 2019, 10:36 PM

    I work 50+hours a week. I’ve a wife and 2 kids. Council house and a car loan, I’m sure like alot of other houses. All I see is the weekly shop getting more expensive, insurance through the roof, more taxes. I’m not seeing any recovery around here. I’d dream of have 51k disposable income. I call bs on the whole thing. This ff fg government are a joke and need to be shown that we are done being fed lie after lie and tax after tax.

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    Mute Ro-your-nan
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    Nov 30th 2019, 7:43 PM

    All the poor-mouths on here – every pub in the country always seem rammed with people swallowing their disposable incomes down their fat necks. Drink less Irish-alcos and you might feel a little better off. Now I’m off to the pub

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    Mute SC
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    Dec 1st 2019, 10:26 AM

    @Ro-your-nan: I don’t think spending a few hundred a year on drink and a few hundred on electronics explains why people can’t afford ten thousand for childcare or 24k for rent… And my car insurance has nearly doubled even though I’ve never even had a penalty point so we’ll all be paying another grand for that soon enough.

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    Mute Ro-your-nan
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    Dec 1st 2019, 1:11 PM

    @SC: move out to Wicklow and don’t have a kid and you’ll be grand. Reckon people are dropping easily €10k a year (€200 per week) on booze. Look at all the snowflakes eating / drinking in town but they can’t save for a deposit.

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    Mute CJ Stewart
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    Dec 1st 2019, 10:28 AM

    ..well somebody must have disposed of my 51k without me seeing it !

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    Mute Michelle Keeley
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    Dec 1st 2019, 8:20 AM

    https://www.thejournal.ie/rish-workers-earn-an-average-of-e23-an-hour-4677090-Jun2019/

    According to the CSO, the average full time wage is approx €48000 and average partime €17000.

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    Mute Luap
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    Dec 1st 2019, 9:41 AM

    51k DISPOSABLE income? Hahahaha

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