The second booster, ie the fourth dose of their vaccine Pfizer / BioNTech further reduces – compared to the third dose – the possibility of people over 60 years of age becoming infected with the coronavirus and becoming ill due to Covid-19. But protection against at least the possibility of infection seems short-lived, according to one new major Israeli scientific research, which concerns the period of prevalence of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus (January-March 2022). On the contrary, it seems that the increased protection against the serious disease lasts longer – it is unknown how long.
The researchers, who analyzed data for about 1.25 million people over the age of 60 The New England Journal of Medicine, according to Reuters and the New York Times, reported that protection against the fourth dose against the infection appeared to peak in the fourth week after to decrease and to have almost disappeared by the eighth.
On the other hand, protection against serious illness does not decrease during the first six weeks after administration of the fourth dose. Those who had taken three doses were 3.5 times more likely to have a serious illness than those who had taken four, and six weeks later were 4.3 times more likely. The study did not include comparative data on deaths, and it is unclear how long protection against severe Covid-19 disease will last, as further study will be needed.
The findings, according to scientists, reinforce the view that Additional vaccine doses provide increased but temporary protection against Omicron and that the effectiveness of the fourth dose decreases more rapidly against the likelihood of infection than against the risk of serious disease.
An earlier Israeli study in March found that older people taking the fourth dose of Pfizer / BioNTech had a 78% lower mortality rate than those taking the third dose. Israel started giving a fourth dose of the vaccine to people over 60 on January 2, 2022.
The new elements come amid dialogue – and controversy – in the US and Europe over the fourth tranche, when to give it and to whom. In March, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a fourth dose for those over 50 and immunocompromised over 12 years, at least four months after the third dose, as well as a third dose booster for those over two. doses of the Johnson & Johnson monosodium vaccine.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that “it really encourages people over the age of 50 with underlying medical problems and those over the age of 65 to take a second boost.” In the EU, health ministers are generally in favor of a fourth installment for those over 60.
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