Concerns as 'vaccine fatigue' causes drop in uptake among older age groups

Some older people who had a mild dose of Omicron now feel they do not need a booster and large numbers are counting down the required four-month gap between infection and booster. File picture

Age Action has called for greater clarity around booster timelines as GPs have reported ‘vaccine fatigue’ in older people and a growing distrust due to a change in vaccine brand.

The HSE called on older people on Friday to get boosted as unvaccinated people or those not yet boosted were “disproportionally” represented in rising hospital figures.

There were 905 Covid patients in hospitals, and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation counted 407 people on trolleys waiting for a bed.

Age Action senior Public Affairs & Policy Specialist, Nat O’Connor, said low booster numbers are a concern and they have received some calls from people confused about timing, in particular among those who have received their first booster and also had a dose of the virus.

“It is quite a specific information gap or uncertainty, it would be helpful to have that clarified,” he said.

There is a certain amount of confusion around if you had Covid where does that fit.

He highlighted varied communication needs among some older people. “It is always important that information is communicated off-line, through local radio and so on,” he said.

“In fairness, that has been done during Covid, but it is important they keep using the offline channels because they are not necessarily going to be online.” 

Dr Denis McCauley, the Irish Medical Organisation’s GP committee chair, said numbers are lower than expected.

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“I think people have just forgotten about Covid, I think they have vaccine fatigue,” he said.

Some older people who had a mild dose of Omicron now feel they do not need a booster, in his experience, and large numbers are counting down the required four-month gap between infection and booster.

He said:

The whole issue of offering Moderna to the over-70s rather than Pfizer is a factor also.

Both are mRNA vaccines offering the same level of protection. However, only Pfizer was previously used for over-70s based on deliveries.

“They basically equate Pfizer with a safe, effective vaccine, they’ve been through it before,” he said.

“Moderna is the exact same essentially but it is a different name, and that had an effect.” 

Between 40 and 50 patients at their practice did not get boosted because of this.

“We are seeing in the cohort going into hospital that they haven’t had their vaccine or their booster, so therefore you can work out that the vaccine does help you,” he said, echoing the HSE’s views.