In a recent study from Tel Aviv University, scientists found that the fourth dose of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine offers strong protection against severe COVID-19 and deaths during an omicron surge.
They examined long-term care facility (LTCF) residents aged 60 years and older.
Data were included for 43,775 people, of whom 55.0 and 45.0 percent received the fourth and third dose (four months previously or earlier), respectively. Participants were followed for about 73 days.
The researchers found that severe COVID-19 infection was detected among 4,058 fourth-dose recipients and 4,370 third-dose recipients at more than seven days postvaccination with the fourth dose (17.6 versus 24.9 percent).
The corresponding incidences of hospitalizations for mild-to-moderate COVID-19, severe illness, and mortality were 0.9 versus 2.8 percent; 0.5 versus 1.5 percent; and 0.2 versus 0.5 percent.
Protections of 34, 64, and 67 percent were seen against overall infection, hospitalizations for mild-to-moderate illness, and severe illness, respectively, and 72 percent against death.
These results suggest a strong association between the receipt of a fourth Pfizer vaccine dose with protection against COVID-19-related hospitalizations, severe disease, and deaths during the omicron surge.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about why COVID-19 is severe in some people and mild in others, and this face mask can capture and deactivate COVID-19 virus.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about whether monkeypox is the next COVID-19, and results showing a universal antibody therapy to fight all COVID-19 variants.
The research was published in JAMA Internal Medicine and conducted by Khitam Muhsen et al.
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