Patients with previous virus infection show stronger response to vaccine

SECOND Covid vaccine doses could be skipped for patients who have already recovered from the infection, according to a new study.

Researchers found that patients who had recovered from the virus produce 59 times more Covid antibodies four weeks after a first vaccine dose than people with no history of the infection.

They said the findings could be used to delay second doses for these patients in order to prioritise supplies to more unvaccinated people sooner.

The results, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, included both recipients of the Oxfordastrazeneca vaccine and the Pfizerbiontech vaccine.

In the most recent 48-hour period, Scotland has given nearly 101,000 people a second Covid vaccine dose compared to just over 5,100 first doses.

Modelling provided to the UK’S Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies has indicated that limited supplies mean that vaccinations for the healthy under50s group may not be ramped up significantly until late May or early June. This has led some scientists to call for the lockdown exit to be delayed until a broader section of the population is protected from disease and – potentially – less able to catch and spread the virus.

The study, carried out by the Richmond Research Institute in London, is based on a small sample of 64 individuals aged 22 to 63 years, of whom 40 had had the Astrazeneca vaccine and 24 had had the Pfizer vaccine.

Of the analysed patients, 19 vaccinated individuals had recovered from a known Covid infection and were on average vaccinated within around six months of infection.

Dr Jorg Taubel, CEO of Richmond

Pharmacology and a scientific lead at RRI, said: “We recognise our study is small.

“However, the results are striking and the cohort we tested is well characterised.

“We encourage the Government and wider research environment to explore this issue further to test our findings.

“If these results can be validated among a larger sample group, it may mean countries can de-prioritise those who have had Covid-19 for their second vaccinations and reach their wider priority populations.”

Professor Jason Leitch, Scotland’s national clinical director, said it

“makes sense” but stressed that the logistics of identifying eligibility by infection history would be counter-productive.

He said: “In a system that’s got to vaccinate 60 million-odd people across all four countries as fast as we possibly can, you would probably slow it down so much that you would lose the advantage that you gain.

“The [UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] look at all this and every time they look the thing that overwhelms everything else is ‘just go as fast as you can’ – get the vaccine in arms, by age, as fast as you can.”