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The data shows that booster protection against symptomatic COVID-19 caused by Omicron lasts about 10 weeks.
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This could mean a fourth dose in 2022 – depending on whether the protection is against severe COVID-19.
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Immunized Americans may already be getting an extra shot.
Booster protection against symptomatic disease caused by the Omicron variant fell by 25% within 10 weeks, new real-world data found – although it is not yet clear whether all may require further doses in 2022.
The UK’s Health Protection Agency said protection against symptomatic COVID-19 caused by the variant after the Pfizer booster was 70% to 45 for people initially vaccinated with the shot developed with BioNTech by Pfizer Booster. % fell.
In the same analysis published Thursday, the agency linked the effectiveness of Moderna’s booster with two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, held for nine weeks, from 70% to 75%, although many people in the study didn’t get the regimen. , which could affect the accuracy of the search.
For those fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca’s vaccine, booster effectiveness decreased from 60% to 35% with the Pfizer booster and to 45% with the Moderna booster, UKHSA said.
Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, tweeted on Thursday That the UK’s findings were a “replica” of what was seen in Israel.
On Wednesday, Israel became the first country to announce a fourth dose to try to boost immunity against Omicron for people susceptible to COVID-19, including people over 60 and health workers.
But other countries, such as the UK, are tight-lipped for more data on how well existing regulations work and the safety and effectiveness of additional doses.
In the US, most immunocompromised people can already receive a fourth dose six months after the third. For people who receive Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, no more than two doses are initially recommended, said guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, head of vaccination at UKHSA, told The Independent that the UK would not rush to change its policy on vaccination until it is clear whether protection against serious disease is affected by Omicron.
The agency said the booster protection against severe COVID-19 caused by Omicron is conceivable because it did not make some people sick. “However, based on experience with previous variants, it is likely to be significantly higher than estimates of symptomatic prognosis,” it said.
Adam Finn, a member of the group of experts advising the UK government, told LBC radio on Friday that the committee would provide recommendations “at some point in the new year”.
“We need to see how things go on this wave and beyond. I think there may be people who got their boosters early who are older, more vulnerable age groups who need more jabs Maybe – it hasn’t been decided yet,” he said.
To access the data, UK researchers compared vaccination rates among people who tested positive for Omicron on a laboratory test to those who tested negative between 27 November – when the first Omicron cases were detected in the UK. Was gone – and December 17th. People with foreign travel were excluded from the analysis.
Meanwhile, experts said the priority to tackle Omicron was still to vaccinate those who were not vaccinated and to get boosters in as many people as possible.
Read the original article on Business Insider
