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Some studies suggest that the protection offered by currently authorized COVID-19 vaccines against contracting a SARS-CoV-2 infection and developing severe disease starts to wane after a few months.

Some experts suggest that this decline in immunity against SARS-CoV-2 may have contributed to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the United States and Europe.

However, COVID-19 vaccines continue to confer a reasonably high degree of protection against severe disease and death at least 6 months after vaccination.

The evidence of waning protection against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 led health agencies in the U.S. and Europe to authorize the use of boosters for older individuals and those at higher risk of developing COVID-19 earlier this year.

The recent rise in COVID-19 cases has prompted public health agencies in the U.S. and some European countries to expand the eligibility for booster shots to all individuals over the age of 18 years.

Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allow individuals to choose a different vaccine for their booster shot than the one they received for their initial two doses.

Such a mix-and-match approach to vaccination, otherwise known as heterologous dosing, may be advantageous over a homologous schedule, which involves the use of the same vaccine for the prime and the boost.

Previous studies that used heterologous dosing for the initial two doses suggested that this approach may provide greater protection against a SARS-CoV-2 infection than a homologous schedule.

Data on the inflammatory side effects and immune protection offered by different heterologous and homologous COVID-19 prime-boost vaccine schedules are necessary to make policy decisions about the choice and dose of the booster vaccine.

A recent randomized clinical trial called COV-Boost assessed the safety of and immune response generated by heterologous and homologous booster schedules in individuals who received two initial doses of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine or the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The study found that both schedules were effective in boosting immune response at 28 days after the booster shot and produced well-tolerated side effects.

The study appears in the journal The Lancet.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines deliver the genetic information that encodes for the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to human cells, enabling them to produce this protein.

The production of the coronavirus spike protein by cells in the human body generates an immune response involving antibodies and T cells.

Neutralizing antibodies produced by B cells, which are a type of white blood cell, bind to the virus to disrupt its ability to infect human cells. Some studies have suggested that neutralizing antibody levels tend to predict the degree of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The levels of neutralizing antibodies against the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 tend to wane a few months after the second dose of the vaccine.

Moreover, vaccinated individuals tend to produce lower levels of neutralizing antibodies against variants of concerns, such as the Delta variant. These variants of concern can also escape neutralization by antibodies in vaccinated individuals.

In other words, the decline in the neutralizing antibody response may result in limited protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Vaccination also results in the generation of memory immune cells that persist despite the decline in neutralizing antibodies. These memory cells form the second line of defense and prevent severe disease after the infection has occurred.

The presence of memory T cells, which are another type of white blood cell, can help launch a rapid T cell response after infection. T cells help eliminate infected cells to prevent the spread of the infection.

So, early activation of T cells due to vaccination plays a critical role in preventing severe COVID-19 and death.

Unlike the relatively drastic decline in neutralizing antibodies, the T cell response remains mostly intact.

Studies have suggested that COVID-19 boosters can help enhance immunity against the Delta variant and prevent breakthrough infections.

The recent study examined the effects of seven different COVID-19 vaccines as booster shots on the immune response at 28 days in individuals immunized with two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The researchers assessed the changes in antibody levels at 28 days to estimate the protective effects conferred by these booster vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The clinical trial also assessed the T cell response and inflammatory adverse effects caused by these experimental booster shots.

The vaccines the researchers tested in the study were:

Lead study author Dr. Saul Faust, Ph.D., a professor at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, says: The side effect data show all seven vaccines are safe to use as third doses, with acceptable levels of inflammatory side effects like injection site pain, muscle soreness, [and] fatigue.

[While] all boosted spike protein immunogenicity after two doses of AstraZeneca, only AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, Janssen, and Curevac did so after two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, he adds.

Dr. James Shepherd, Ph.D. a professor at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, who was not involved in the study spoke to Medical News Today about the findings. He told us:

The COV-Boost results from the U.K. are reassuring but not surprising. The broad ability of vaccines to boost each other in a heterologous prime-boost strategy, measured mainly by antibody increases as a surrogate for real-world immunity, would be expected.

Most of the vaccines use the same antigen, the spike protein, as an immune stimulus and can therefore boost each other, he explained. This gives public health programs reassurance that booster campaigns can focus on delivering whatever shot is available into the arm rather than the more complicated distribution and delivery of matching booster shots, added Dr. Shepherd.

The recent study involved 2,878 participants who were recruited at 18 study sites in the U.K.

The participants were at least 30 years of age and had received two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. These individuals had received their second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at least 10 or 12 weeks, respectively, before receiving their third booster shot.

The participants received any one of the seven vaccines listed above as the third dose during the study.

The researchers split the participants into younger and older age groups during the data analysis. The younger group consisted of participants aged 3069 years, and the second group included individuals aged 70 years and older.

The team also assessed the safety of and immune response generated by using half-doses of the Valneva, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Novavax vaccines. A control group received a dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine.

The researchers asked the participants to maintain a daily electronic diary to track any adverse effects. They further assessed the safety of the vaccine booster shots during the subsequent visits at the trial site.

The side effects observed after the booster dose were generally acceptable with all vaccines. Injection site pain, headache, and fatigue were the most common side effects.

The inflammatory adverse effects were more pronounced with certain vaccines. For instance, the Johnson & Johnson booster produced moderate-to-severe side effects in individuals under the age of 70 years who were primed with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Furthermore, the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Moderna booster shots produced high levels of side effects in younger individuals who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine prime. The Moderna booster also produced side effects in both young and older adults primed with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The researchers collected blood samples from the participants 28 days following their booster shot to assess the levels of antibodies against the spike protein.

They also conducted assays to assess the levels of neutralizing antibodies and the T cell response. These assays measured the immune response against the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and the Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants.

Among the participants who received two initial doses of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, all of the experimental booster vaccines produced higher antibody levels against the spike protein at 28 days than the control group. The only exception was the Valneva vaccine, which did not increase antibody levels in individuals primed with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The researchers observed similar results with the booster vaccines for the increase in neutralizing antibodies against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and the variants of concern.

The neutralizing antibodies levels against the Delta variant were slightly lower than they were for the wild-type coronavirus. Moreover, the neutralizing antibodies levels against the Delta variant and the wild-type coronavirus were correlated.

The study authors note that these results support the approach of using vaccines designed against the wild-type coronavirus, despite the emergence of new variants.

Participants who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine prime showed an increase in the T cell response after receiving a booster with the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccine. In contrast, individuals who received all three doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca did not show an increase in T cell response compared with the control group.

Moreover, the Valneva vaccine which uses inactivated whole virus did not increase T cell response in individuals primed with two doses of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

The Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots produced the highest increase in the immune response. However, the study used the full dose (100 micrograms of mRNA) of the Moderna vaccine instead of the CDC-approved half-dose. This is because the study took place in June, which was before the authorization of the use of the vaccine for booster shots.

In sum, these results suggest considerable variation in the immune response and inflammatory side effects produced by different vaccine boosters. These results will allow public health agencies and policymakers to make recommendations for booster vaccination programs after taking the side effect profile, availability of vaccines, and susceptibility to COVID-19 into consideration.

The study included individuals who received either a half-dose or a full dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as their booster shot. The increase in immune response generated by both the half-dose and the full dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster shot was similar in individuals primed with either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Furthermore, people who received the half-dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as a booster had a slightly better side effect profile. This may suggest that a half-dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may be sufficient to produce the desired boost in immunity.

Besides potentially reducing side effects, the use of a half-dose of the vaccine as a booster shot may allow the vaccine to reach more people around the globe.

The emergence of the Omicron variant has led experts and the CDC to urge all individuals to get the booster shot. The spike protein of the Omicron variant has a large number of mutations, potentially allowing it to escape from neutralizing antibodies. This raises questions about the effectiveness of currently authorized vaccines and boosters.

Dr. Duane Wesemann, Ph.D., a professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, told MNT: In light of Omicron and the continued threat of other emerging variants, magnitude of response may matter a lot more. Current vaccines are related in that they present to the immune system the pre-variant version of the SARS-CoV-2 spike. If Omicron has substantial immune evasion features as feared, more robust immunity to this pre-variant spike would likely be necessary for adequate protection.

It is clear that neutralizing antibodies correlate strongly with protective efficacy. That said, it is very likely that T cells play a role as well, which would be less affected by Omicron, so T cell immunity will likely still be induced, but how much protection [this can] provide in the setting of severely weakened antibody response is not clear, he added.

In summary, Antibody magnitude may matter more in light of more immune evasive variants such as (potentially, well see soon) Omicron, said Dr. Wesemann.

The study was conducted at multiple sites and did not include participants receiving the half-dose and full dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at the same site. The researchers note that they could not draw a statistical comparison between the two Pfizer-BioNTech groups, making it impossible to draw any direct conclusions.

The authors also note that the study included only individuals aged 30 years and older, with a majority of participants being white. For this reason, their findings may not apply to the entire population.

Lastly, the team assessed the immune response at 28 days after the booster shot, and the results do not indicate long-term protection. The study design of the clinical trial includes the collection of blood samples at 84 and 365 days to assess the long-term immune protection offered by the booster shots.

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Are all COVID-19 vaccine boosters safe and effective? - Medical News Today

In a landmark announcement today, the establishment of Australian Space Park will further cement South Australia as the nations Space State and provide a vital manufacturing link to the local space industry value chain.

Four companies are partnering with the South Australian Government to develop the space sector in South Australia through the purpose-built facility, the Australian Space Park Fleet Space Technologies, Q-CTRL, ATSpace and Alauda Aeronautics.

With the Australian Space Agency and Mission Control already based in Adelaide, the Australian Space Park will boost space manufacturing capability and capacity by initially co-locating four space manufacturing companies in a purpose-built facility with a focus on collaboration and production of small satellites and their payloads, rockets, electrical vertical take-off and landing vehicles (eVTOL), and supporting componentry and technical systems.

Premier Steven Marshall today announced the State Liberal Government would be contributing a $20 million investment in the Australian Space Park, which is anticipated to create approximately 220 highly skilled space industry roles within the first two years of operation, further building out the Space ecosystem in South Australia as the national centre for this emerging industry. Discussions with the Adelaide Airport are ongoing as a potential location for the Park.

My Government has unashamedly adapted a pro-growth, pro-economy agenda and transforming South Australia into the undisputed Space State is a key part of future proofing the jobs-economy for our children in the decades to come, Premier Marshall said.

The creation of the Australian Space Park signals our commitment to the South Australian and Australian space sector by bridging the gap between research and development and prototyping to production at scale.

The Hub aligns with Australias space strategy that aims to triple the space sectors contribution to GDP to over $12 billion per annum and create up to an additional 20,000 jobs by 2030.

It is fantastic to have four amazing companies partner with the South Australian Government on this initiative, with Fleet Space Technologies, Q-CTRL who we welcome to our state as they expand their Australian presence beyond New South Wales, ATSpace a brand new Australian company and Alauda Aeronautics partnering and co-investing in the Australian Space Park to further develop the space value chain to meet the needs of satellite and rocket manufacturers.

Having Q-CTRL and ATSpace establish in South Australia as part of this project provides further opportunities for collaboration and partnerships across the space sector. South Australias innovative and collaborative eco-system, coupled with our global reputation for hi-tech and space capabilities, continues to attract companies here.

The Australian Space Park is the next step in positioning Australias space community to deliver the entire space value chain enabling the design, manufacture, launch and mission control of NewSpace capabilities.

Flavia Tata Nardini, Co-Founder and CEO of Fleet Space Technologies, on behalf of the industry consortium, said the Australian Space Park will be an important centre to grow not only South Australias sovereign capability, but also Australias growing reputation for industry capability within the global space sector and advanced aerospace sectors.

We are delighted to be part of a facility that is the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, Ms Tata Nardini said.

Indeed, we are proud to be part of South Australias growing status as a centre of excellence for space technology on the global stage.

The opportunity to collaborate with leading minds in our field in a dedicated facility like this will accelerate progress for our entire industry.

Adelaide Airport has been identified by the industry consortium as an ideal location for the Australian Space Park due to its proximity to traditional aerospace companies and the central business district and innovation precinct, Lot Fourteen, which is home to a growing community of space companies.

Adelaide Airport Managing Director, Mark Young, said the Airport Business District offered excellent connectivity with national and international users.

Were excited to be identified as the potential site of the Australian Space Park, Mr Young said.

In addition to our central location, we offer suitable land opportunities both for the hub as well as room for growth and to attract like-minded businesses keen to play a role in the growing space sector.

As the centrepiece of the nations space endeavours and building upon South Australias strong starting position in the New Space economy, the state is presently targeting an annual growth rate in the space sector of 5.8 per cent over the next decade.

For further information on the Australian Space Park visit http://www.invest.sa.gov.au/australianspacepark

Read more from the original source:
SA yet again shoots for the stars as Australian Space Park is established in the Space State - Premier of South Australia

The West Coast Zone (WCZ) recreational fishing season for abalone will begin this Saturday for licence-holders, with weather and ocean conditions placing a medium risk for fishing between 7am and 8am.

Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) surf prediction modelling recommends the fishing hour should go ahead on 11 December, with appropriate caution. Wave heights between 1 and 1.5 metres are expected, with moderate swell and onshore winds and temperatures around 20 degrees.

SLSWA modelling uses the best available information on these conditions from multiple sources and rates the risks for factors, such as wind speed, swell, tide and swell period.

Licensed abalone fishers who plan to take part in this Saturdays fishing hour in the WCZ between Moore River and the Busselton Jetty will still need to make their own evaluation of the sea and weather conditions on the day to ensure they have water skills to manage them. It is very important that participants also have suitable clothing and gearfor abalone fishing.

Due to an increase in sea surface temperatures in recent years, the sustainable recreational catch target range of 25 to 29 tonnes has been set for the 2021/22 season.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) Senior Management Officer Nick Blay said fishers should observe the safety messages and not rush out on to the reefs to collect their abalone.

The healthy abalone stocks off the Perth coast means there will be enough abalone for fishers and they should always keep in mind that no catch is worth risking a life for, Mr Blay said.

Safety is a key priority at all times for the department and we thank the SLSWA volunteers who monitor the abalone fishing hours to focus on the safety of fishers.

Apart from this Saturday, fishing from 7am and 8am can also take place on 8 January, as well as 5 February and 19 February.

It is important recreational fishers comply with the bag and size limits for abalone to ensure this resource continues to be sustainable. DPIRD Compliance officers will be at WCZ abalone fishing locations, to check compliance this Saturday and throughout the rest of the season.

More on abalone fishing rules is available at http://www.fish.wa.gov.au. SLSWA has abalone fishing safety tips at: https://www.mybeach.com.au/safety-rescue-services/coastal-recreation/abalone/

We urge anyone heading to WAs beaches at any time to switch on their Sea Sense check http://www.sharksmart.com.au or download the SharkSmart WA app. The app combines latest shark activity, as well as beach safety features such as Surf Life Saving WA patrolled beaches and weather forecasts, to help people plan their trips to the ocean.

Media contact: Ashley Malone, DPIRD media liaison - mobile 0418 901 767

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West Coast Zone abalone fishing season to start this Saturday - Government of Western Australia

One of the biggest wildlife conservation programs undertaken in Australia has reached a major milestone, celebrating 25 years of protecting our native wildlife. The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions' (DBCA) Western Shield program has been operating for 25 years and works to protect Western Australia's native wildlife through broadscale management of introduced predators, including foxes and feral cats.

Feral cats and foxes have been implicated in the extinction or decline of many of WA's native mammals, birds and reptiles. Research has shown that feral cats kill more than 1.5 billion native animals each year in Australia, and foxes are responsible for many more. One of the best ways to ensure the survival of these species is to control these introduced predators.

Western Shield has achieved significant conservation outcomes for many threatened mammal, bird and reptile species in WA, including the recovery of populations and increases in distribution.

More than 30 focal native species have directly benefited from the program, including the numbat, quokka, quenda, chuditch, woylie, western brush wallaby and black-flanked rock wallaby. Dryandra Woodland, near Narrogin, has benefited significantly through long-term introduced predator control, which has resulted in an increased number of numbats in this area.

Research has found a threefold increase in native animal numbers in forests where fox management occurs, including for threatened species like the chuditch and woylie. Fox density has also been reduced by up to 80 per cent in fox management areas in the State's South-West.

The management of introduced predators takes place across around 3.8 million hectares of DBCA's Parks and Wildlife Service-managed land and associated partner areas, from Karratha in the north, through forests of the South-West to east of Esperance.

The program is run with support from partners including Alcoa of Australia, Tronox, Western Areas Limited, South 32 Worsley Alumina, Newmont Boddington Gold, Commonwealth Department of Defence and Ventia.

Volunteers from all over the world are able to get involved in Western Shield through the online Zooniverse camera watch project. This citizen science program allows people to help to identify and classify animals from images taken by remote cameras that are located in national parks and conservation areas around WA. These camera images also help monitor numbers of foxes and feral cats in an area to inform on-ground management strategies.

Western Shield also contributes to a range of educational programs in both primary and secondary schools, helping to improve the community's knowledge of threatened species and the role fox and feral cat management can play in ensuring the survival of native fauna in the wild.

Comments attributed to Environment Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:

"Introduced feral foxes and cats remain the single biggest threat to the survival and persistence of our vulnerable native animals.

"Over 25 years, as one of the largest conservation programs in Australia, Western Shield has achieved remarkable success in managing feral predators such as foxes and cats.

"The program continues to safeguard our native wildlife from extinction.

"Science is key to the program's success, with DBCA researchers developing and testing the management methods used to control introduced predators. Decades of scientific effort have refined tools that are proving effective at controlling foxes and feral cats in a range of different environments across WA."

Minister's office -6552 5900

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Media statements - Western Shield - protecting WA's native species for 25 years - Media Statements

Copenhagen, 25 November 2021

A new study by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published in Eurosurveillance estimates that 470 000 lives have been saved among those aged 60 years and over since the start of COVID-19 vaccination rollout in 33 countries across the WHO European Region.

This estimate does not include lives saved by vaccinating people under 60 nor lives saved from the indirect effect of vaccination because of a reduction in transmission.

Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe says, COVID-19 has exacted a devastating death toll in our region, but we can now categorically say that without COVID-19 vaccines as a tool to contain this pandemic, many more people would have died.

The COVID-19 vaccines are a marvel of modern science, and what this research shows is that theyre doing what they promised, that is saving lives, offering very high protection against severe illness and death. In some countries, the death toll would have been double what it is now without the vaccines. It is therefore critically important that all Member States in the European Region achieve high coverage for people in the at-risk groups as soon as possible. Countries with lower vaccination uptake rates must continue to prioritize those who are at highest risk and protect vulnerable groups as rapidly as possible.

But vaccines must be accompanied by a range of preventive measures to keep transmission levels low and keep society open.

Since December 2019, over 1.5 million COVID-19 confirmed fatalities have been recorded in the countries of the WHO European Region, with 90.2% in those aged 60 years and over. The rapid development and administration of COVID-19 vaccines has provided much-needed protection from severe disease and death for millions of the most vulnerable, but the speed and extent of rollout of these vaccines across countries of the Region is inequitable.

Husband and wife Frank and Barbara Durrant, aged 78 and 74, respectively, live in East Devon in the United Kingdom and have four grandchildren. After receiving their second COVID-19 vaccination they caught the virus but made speedy recoveries.

Barbara Durrant says, I contracted COVID-19 approximately five weeks ago and suffered only a mild cold and loss of taste for a couple of weeks. I feel quite sure that being double vaccinated saved me from being much more seriously affected. Sadly, I lost a very dear, very fit friend who died of the virus before the vaccine was available. She had no choice.

Having received my second vaccination, I caught COVID-19 following an extended time spent in close contact with a friend who had the virus. The symptoms were so mild that were it not for a positive test I would have considered myself to have been fully fit. I attribute this, without doubt, to the fact that I had been doubly vaccinated, says Frank Durrant.

The authors from the WHO Regional Office for Europe and ECDC estimated the number of deaths among adults aged 60 years and older in 33 countries in the European Region that would have happened without any vaccines, using the actual weekly reported death counts.

They then calculated the number of lives saved due to COVID-19 vaccination as the difference between these estimates and the reported number of deaths from December 2020 to November 2021 for those aged 60 years and over.

They estimated that COVID-19 vaccination saved 469 186 lives in this age group in the 33 countries during the study period reducing the expected number of deaths by approximately half. In 30 countries with data also available in smaller age groups, the largest number of lives saved was among those aged 80 years and over (261 421 lives).

Uptake of the complete dose series of COVID-19 vaccines in those aged 60 years and over now ranges from 20% to 100% among the 33 countries under study. The study estimated that the largest number of lives saved was in countries where COVID-19 vaccination rollout was early and uptake in the target group was also high. Other countries experienced limited effects of vaccination because their vaccine rollout was either slower or rolled out in parallel with the ongoing effective use of non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce transmission.

Dr Andrea Ammon, ECDC Director says, The consequences of low vaccination rates in some countries are currently being reflected in overloaded health-care systems and high mortality rates. We urge Member States to continue focusing on closing immunization gaps, especially among the most vulnerable individuals and those at highest risk of severe disease.

There are still too many individuals at risk of severe COVID-19 infection whom we need to protect as soon as possible. Even in countries that have achieved good overall vaccination coverage, there are still subpopulations and age groups in which coverage remains lower than desired. The vaccination of older age groups must continue to be an urgent priority for saving the most lives in the weeks and months to come.

Vaccination is one part of the toolbox of important measures needed to curb the pandemic, but on its own it will not end the health crisis.

A range of other measures that limit transmission of the virus are needed. They are essential to help keep society open as well as lessen the pressure on strained health-care systems and health-care workers exhausted by more than 18 months on the frontline of the pandemic.

First of all get vaccinated. Vaccination is saving lives in all age groups, says Dr Kluge. We know the virus thrives in closed, crowded and confined spaces, and thats why we must also follow measures known to reduce transmission, especially now the colder weather is driving us to gather indoors.

Wear a mask in crowded, closed and confined spaces, cover coughs and sneezes, keep physical distance from other people and wash your hands regularly. Ventilation is important too, so if its safe to do so open a window or a door to let in fresh air. Its important that authorities take these measures and that we do all of these for the protection of ourselves and others, even if we are fully vaccinated, because based on the available evidence vaccination greatly reduces but cannot stop virus transmission altogether.

By making these actions part of our daily routine, we can all help stop infection and the spread of the virus. In the same way that we routinely put on a seatbelt when driving, we should think to wash our hands, wear a mask or keep distance from other people, to protect from infection.

Until the pandemic is over countries must keep in place strong public health measures, such as free of charge testing and contact tracing to break chains of transmission, as well as urgently reaching out to all individuals in priority groups for vaccination who have not already received a full series.

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WHO Regional Office for Europe: Nearly half a million lives saved by COVID-19 vaccination in less than a year - WHO/Europe