Sri Lanka study finds elderly at risk if second AstraZeneca jab delayed

Glocal
By Editor_1
Elderly women wait patiently for their turn to get the 2nd dose of the AstraZeneca shot at the Viharamahadevi Park in Colombo, on Sunday (August 1), where the Sri Lanka Army commenced a 24-hour vaccination program at 8.30 a.m., to administer the 2nd dose of the vaccine – J. Sujeewakumar/ENCL
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COLOMBO – Researchers in Sri Lanka have found that antibody levels created by the first dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine drops in elderly people within 16 weeks if the second dose is not taken within that period.

The finding raises concerns about adequate immunity in the elderly among 575,000 Sri Lankans who, after months of waiting, were set to get their second shot of AstraZeneca starting Sunday (August 1).

The drop in efficacy was revealed in a paper written by a team led by Prof Neelika Malavige, who heads the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Sri Jayawardanapura, and published in globally reputed Nature Communications, an online science journal published by Nature Research, a division of international publisher of science magazines Springer Nature.

“What we have looked at are the antibody responses following a single dose of the vaccine,” Malavige said via e-mail, adding, “What we have found is that, while in younger people antibodies are maintained at a reasonable level even at 16 weeks, it reduces in the elderly. Therefore, it is important to give the second dose at 12 weeks or maybe earlier in the elderly. Protection offered by a single dose may wane with time, especially for variants like Delta.”

The study was conducted among 655 healthcare workers who got their first dose of AstraZeneca in February and March.

“Basically, in this study, we found that after a single dose of the Covishield (AstraZeneca) vaccine, 93.4% individuals developed antibodies and 97.1% developed neutralizing antibodies (the protective type of antibodies),” Malavige said, but noted that antibodies to Delta were not measured, as delta was not a problem during the time the study was conducted.

Over 400,000 Sri Lankans received their first AstraZeneca dose in February and more than 450,000 got in March, health ministry data showed. Most of them were over 60 years of age as the government initially focused on the elderly. Some 575,000 who have received the first AstraZeneca dose are awaiting their second jab.

Originally, the second dose was scheduled to be administered in 11 weeks, COVID-19 vaccination cards carried by recipients of the first dose showed.

The long delay was due to the government’s failure to secure vaccine consignments after an initial plan to buy 10 million Covishiled doses from India did not pan out in the wake of a devastating second wave across the Palk Strait.

Sri Lanka health authorities said it was yet to receive an official copy of the research study to decide if it should consider a fresh vaccine rollout for the elderly who were administered AstraZeneca five months ago.

“Even if we get the report, we will have to review it with another medical team and only then we will proceed to take necessary decisions,” Health Services Deputy Director Dr. Hemantha Herath said.

-economynext.com

 

 

 

 

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