BERLIN — Germany’s independent vaccination advisory panel is recommending a booster shot with a messenger RNA vaccine for people who have had a full course of four Chinese, Indian and Russian COVID-19 vaccines that aren’t currently approved for use in the European Union.
In a draft recommendation Thursday, the panel, known by its German acronym STIKO, said the advice applies to people given a full course and also a booster of the Chinese Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, the Indian-made Covaxin and Russia’s Sputnik V.
It said that the new booster shot should be administered at least three months after the previous vaccination.
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The German panel said that people who have received only a single shot of the four vaccines should start a new vaccination series.
And it added that recipients of other vaccines not cleared by the EU should in general start a new series with a vaccine European authorities have approved.
Scientists believe that mixing and matching vaccines prompts a better immune response.
The BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines have been the mainstay of Germany’s vaccination program. Three other vaccines using different technologies have been cleared for use in the 27-nation EU – the AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax products.
The mRNA vaccines have shown to be better than others at protecting against newer variants like omicron.
Separately, efforts to find a majority in the German parliament for a bill that would require all adults to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have reportedly stalled.
German publications Bild and Der Spiegel reported that talks between parties haven’t resulted in the necessary support, and lawmakers may now focus on a vaccine mandate for residents age 50 and over.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined Thursday to comment on the reports but said he continues to back the idea of a vaccine mandate for all adults.
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A doctor vaccinates an employee of MKT Krankentransport OHG in a mobilxjmtzywe vaccination station at Wettersteinplatz in Munich, Germany, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)
