When should the third dose of the coronavirus vaccine be given?

The vaccination campaign against Covid-19 continues to advance at a good pace in Spain and, if the Government’s forecasts are met, 70% of the population will have received the complete guideline by the end of August. All the vaccines that are being administered in our country are of two doses with the exception of Janssen’s. Now experts warn that a third dose of the coronavirus vaccine will be necessary to maintain immunity. In addition, it is very likely that in the future we will have to wear some more until SARS-CoV-2 becomes a simple seasonal virus, but when will we have to get the third dose of the coronavirus vaccine in Spain? The truth is that much earlier than previously believed. We thought that, like the flu vaccine, the booster dose would not arrive until a year after the first injection. But this will not be the case: the vaccination campaign with the booster dose among the most vulnerable groups will begin in October 2021, even before having finished immunizing 100% of the population with the first regimen. This was explained this week by the Minister of Health Carolina Darias, while Rafael Bengoa, former director of Health Systems at the WHO, during a television intervention, also pointed to the need to match the vaccination of young people with the administration of the third dose of the elderly. This is something that was already known, although we thought that the third dose would begin to be administered in 2022. However, the Ministry of Health has already been considering the possibility of starting revaccination for weeks to the most vulnerable groups from October.It has closed agreements with the four laboratories to which the European Commission has given its approval: Pfizer, Janssen, Moderna and AstraZeneca. Before September 30, 93.5 million doses will arrive in Spain, enough to immunize 55 million people, eight million more than the Spanish population. In addition, vials of Sanofi, Novavax and Curevac will begin to arrive in the coming months. The Ministry of Health is currently designing a new vaccination campaign. The dates will depend on scientific studies and the availability of vaccines.