[ad_1]
Third shots of the coronavirus vaccines become significantly less likely to protect against serious illness after about four months, according to a new study released Friday.
The effectiveness of the third booster doses against hospitalizations during the Omicron era of the pandemic dropped from 91 percent in the first two months after a third dose to 78 percent around the fourth month, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest.
Effectiveness against emergency department or urgent care visits in that same period went from 87 percent in two months to 66 percent by the fourth month after the third dose – and only 37 percent after about five months, the data show.
In a summary of the study, the CDC recommended all eligible people “remain up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations to best protect against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations and [emergency and urgent care] visits.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, recently told the Financial Times said he foresees a time where vaccinations and previous infections will mean fewer COVID-19 restrictions. Regular boosters may not be needed for everyone, he said.
“It will depend on who you are,” Fauci said. “But if you are a normal, healthy 30-year-old person with no underlying conditions, you might need a booster only every four or five years.
The study, conducted with cases across 10 states from Aug. 26, 2021 to Jan. 22, 2022, suggests vaccine protection is stronger overall against hospitalizations than it is for emergency visits. The vaccines also appeared to be more potent when the Delta strain accounted for a majority of cases than when the Omicron variant did.
The new data backed up previous studies that suggested the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, in either two or three doses, was less effective in both the Omicron and Delta-dominant periods of the pandemic.
The new research is limited though – the data didn’t distinguish between people who got a third dose as a booster shot or those who were immunocompromised and got three shots as part of their recommended dosages. It also didn’t have breakdowns of the effectiveness by age group or note if those tracked had underlying health conditions.
The tracked cases don’t take into consideration coronavirus infections that weren’t medically reported nor did they confirm which variant of COVID was present in the cases.
But the study suggested that two-doses of the vaccines during the Omicron-dominant period offered 69 percent effectiveness against emergency or urgent visits within two months yet only 37 percent at five months. A third dose boosted protection to 87 percent effectiveness within two months to 66 percent within four or five months to only 31 percent after five months, the data show. There was little data on those vaccinated for over five months, the CDC said.
Among those hospitalized with COVID-19 like illness in the study, 43 percent were unvaccinated, 45 percent had gotten two doses and 12 percent had received three shots of one of the vaccines.
[ad_2]