Large Israeli study shows reduction in confirmed infection and severe illness among adults 60 years of age and older<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
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FRIDAY, Sept. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Among Israeli adults aged 60 years and older, those receiving a third booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have rates of confirmed COVID-19 and severe illness that are substantially lower than the rates seen for individuals only receiving the two original vaccine doses, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em>.<\/p>\n Yinon M. Bar\u00e2\u0080\u0091On, from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and colleagues compared the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the rate of severe illness (July 30 through Aug. 31, 2021) between those who had received a booster injection at least 12 days earlier (booster group) and those who had not received a booster injection (nonbooster group). The analysis included 1,137,804 persons ages 60 years and older who had been fully vaccinated at least five months earlier.<\/p>\n The researchers found that \u00e2\u0089\u00a512 days after the booster dose, the rate of confirmed infection was lower in the booster group than in the nonbooster group by a factor of 11.3. Similarly, the rate of severe illness was lower by a factor of 19.5. Compared with the rate of infection four to six days after the booster, the rate of confirmed infection \u00e2\u0089\u00a512 days after vaccination was lower by a factor of 5.4.<\/p>\n “Our findings give clear indications of the effectiveness of a booster dose even against the currently dominant delta variant,” the authors write. “Future studies will help determine the long-term effectiveness of the booster dose against current and emerging variants.” <\/p>\n