The study was just published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday (April 5).
The study looked at the efficacy of four doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 1.3 million people over 60 years of age in Israel. The information of these people was obtained from the database of the Israeli Ministry of Health from January 10 to March 2, when the Omicron variant prevailed in the country.
Research shows that 4 doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine reduce the incidence of COVID-19 in the elderly. But protection against COVID-19 infection is short-lived. Specifically, protection against the risk of COVID-19 infection diminished after four weeks.
Vials of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19.
However, the protection against the risk of severe disease did not decline for six weeks after the fourth dose. Further studies are needed to assess the longer-term protection of the fourth dose, the researchers said. know.
Israel started the 4th injection from January 1.
Another study from Israel in March found that elderly people who received four booster shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had a 78% lower mortality rate than those who received only three.
In Asia, South Korea began administering four doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in February, and Singapore said a fourth dose was planned for people 80 years of age and older.
This week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will discuss the need for additional booster shots. Last week, the US allowed 4 injections for people over 50 years old amid the spread of the subline of the Omicron variant – BA.2.
The health ministers of many European countries are also urging their governments to give four shots to people over 60.
(Source: Reuters)
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