In Iceland, a second dose is recommended for those vaccinated with Janssen

A single dose of Janssen’s vaccine will not be enough, and now consider the Icelandic health authorities who on Wednesday, July 22, urged concerned residents to resume the vaccination appointment. Thus, nearly 53,000 Icelanders who benefited from the vaccine marketed by the US company Johnson & Johnson will have to receive a second dose, contrary to what was previously indicated.

“It is our intention to offer each person vaccinated with the Janssen vaccine an additional dose of the vaccine, which is likely to be the Pfizer vaccine,” Chief epidemiologist Thórólfur Gudnason announced to the press. This extra dose will also be affected by people who have a weaker immune system, such as those with chronic diseases.

If Iceland takes such a measure, it is aimed at curbing the outbreak of the epidemic that has been observed in recent days, despite the extensive vaccination coverage among the population. As of July 15, 73.8% of the population of 370,000 have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the platform. Our world in data, This led the government to lift the latest restrictions on June 26. However, the delta variant is spreading faster and stronger than expected. For more than a week, the island has been facing an increase in pollution: 213 new patients have been identified over the past seven days, of whom 148 have been vaccinated. Most had just received a single-dose vaccine, which indicates that the latter is less effective against the variant of Indian origin.

This, in any case, was confirmed by Thórólfur Gudnason explaining it “Despite the good participation in vaccination, the virus is spreading incredibly quickly nationwide, which indicates that the effectiveness of the vaccine against infection is lower than expected against the delta variant.” For its part, the Pfizer laboratory recommended giving a third dose of its vaccine against the delta variant. Planning to apply for permission in the United States in the near future, the laboratory raises levels of protection 5 to 10 times higher After a third dose.