3rd vaccine dose significantly boosts immunity for people over 60, Israel study suggests

A third dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine could significantly improve immunity against the virus in people ages 60 and older, early data from a real-world study in Israel suggests, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In Israel, which was one of the first countries to authorize a booster dose for older adults, the third dose reduced the risk of COVID-19 infection in people ages 60 and older by 86 percent and reduced the risk of severe disease by 92 percent, according to Maccabi Health Services, Israel's second-largest healthcare provider.  

"These results are highly encouraging. They suggest that the third booster may restore the vaccine efficacy to its original levels," Eran Segal, a computational biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science, told the Journal

The results included 149,144 people who received a booster shot, compared to 675,630 people who received two doses of Pfizer's shot. 

The Biden administration said Aug. 18 it will begin allowing Americans to get booster shots  Sept. 20. People will be eligible eight months after their second dose, whereas in Israel boosters have been offered to people five months after their second dose. 

Read the full article here.

 

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