Qatar University (QU) held a webinar on ‘Scientific research and the Covid-19 Vaccination Debate’, in line with Research Wednesday Series, which is a series of biweekly research seminars highlighting cutting-edge research and innovation.
The event was moderated by Hadi Yassine, Associate Professor of infectious diseases and Section Head of Biomedical Research– BRC at Qatar University. Speakers of the event included, Sheikh Dr. Mohammed Al-Thani, Director of Public Health, Ministry of Public Health and Prof. Laith Abu-Raddad, Professor of infectious diseases epidemiology at Weill Cornell Medicine- Qatar.
The webinar shed light on Qatar’s development and efficiency towards Covid-19 vaccination and the role Qatar has played on its scientific research. The speakers discussed how smartly the COVID-19 crisis has been controlled in Qatar; how successfully they have used scientific based knowledge to develop strategies, conducted massive vaccination campaigns, applying and implementing strict measures.
Prof. Laith Abu-Raddad also mentioned that Qatar has been a leader in COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness studies and among top five countries in this regard.
Whereas Sheikh Dr. Mohammed discussed the importance and significance of third dose of vaccination. He mentioned that initially the third dose of vaccination is offered for individuals suffering from certain immunodeficiency diseases and to those who are particularly vulnerable to serious complications of Covid-19 infection. Sheikh Mohammed explained that the individuals from this group are more at risk of developing a serious and prolonged illness in the event of infection with Covid-19, because they may not obtain the same level of immunity after receiving two doses of the vaccine compared to people who do not suffer from immunodeficiency.
The third dose aims to improve the response of immunocompromised people to the initial series of Covid-19 vaccines they have received before, and it is not considered a booster dose like that given to individuals when it is likely that their immune response to the initial series of vaccines they have received has weakened over time.
He identified the groups eligible to receive the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, which included; Individuals who are currently receiving cancer treatments to treat tumors or leukemias, individuals who have had an organ transplant and are using drugs that suppress the immune system, individuals who have had a stem cell transplant within the past two years, or are using immunosuppressive drugs, individuals with moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency (eg, DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome), Individuals with advanced or untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, individuals currently receiving treatment with high doses of corticosteroids or other medications that may suppress the immune response such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, and other immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory biological agents and individuals with chronic conditions such as asplenia and chronic kidney disease.
Prof. Laith stressed on the importance of getting vaccination for pregnant women and discussed from how we can prevent ourselves from delta variant by getting vaccinated.
The webinar discussed several other topics related to the possible emergence of new pandemics such as Nepah and MERS-CoV, what are the preventive measures that should be considered by vaccinated people, How soon are vaccinated people expected to take off their masks, What measures will be considered to limit the spread of COVID-19 during FIFA Arab Cup 2021 and many more.