Third vaccine dose important for people on immunosuppressive drugs, new Norwegian study claims

A third vaccine dose has a positive effect on patients who use immunosuppressive drugs, a Norwegian study backed by several hospitals shows.

The first two vaccine doses were shown to have little or no effect on people taking immunosuppressive drugs. The development of so-called t-cells that fight the coronavirus has not had the same effect for this group of patients as in other people. But now, a study among 125 patients in Norway shows that a third dose of vaccine has a very good effect, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) writes.

“We made very encouraging findings. We see that most people who did not have antibodies after two doses got them after three doses. It is fantastically good (news),” chief physician Guro Løvik Goll, a researcher at the rheumatology department at Diakonhjemmet hospital, stated.

The study is a collaborative effort between Diakonhjemmet, Oslo University Hospital, Ahus, and the National Institute of Public Health (FHI).

Up to 50,000 people in Norway use immunosuppressive drugs. Among others, there are also many patients with autoimmune diseases. Goll says that many of them could probably benefit from a fourth and fifth dose of vaccine as well.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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