The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that three U.S. studies have shown that a third dose of the mRNA vaccine provides 90 percent protection once morest hospitalizations, key to fighting a variant of the Omicron coronavirus.
At present, Omicron accounts for 99% of new new crown cases in the United States.
Overall, a third dose of vaccine helps prevent infection and symptoms, with BNT or Modena (MRNA-US) vaccines benefit the most.
The BNT vaccine is BioNTech SE (BNTX-US) and Pfizer (PFE-US) co-developed COVID-19 vaccine.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing on Friday: “People who were vaccinated on time had the highest protection once morest infection and hospitalization, i.e., those who were eligible for a third booster dose.”
As with other national studies, the third dose of vaccine was more protective once morest Omicron virus than once morest Delta virus.
The study found that six months following a second dose of the vaccine, protection dropped to 57 percent, while a third dose had 90 percent protection once morest hospitalizations and emergency room visits.
In another study, published in the JAMA Medical Journal, researchers reviewed testing data from Dec. 10, 2021, to Jan. 1, 2022, for 23,391 cases caused by Delta or Omicron variant strains.
They found that among test-seekers, those who received 3 doses of the mRNA vaccine gained the most protection from the virus compared to those who received 2 doses or no vaccine.
The fact that most of the subjects in the study had been vaccinated within 1 month of being tested may also have benefited because of the strong push for boosters in the United States.
The UK study showed that antibody protection from the booster waned following 10 months, so it was unclear how long the third dose would last.
Some countries have begun to provide additional booster doses, but a recent study from Israel found that while a fourth dose of the mRNA vaccine boosted antibodies, the level of protection was insufficient to prevent infection by the Omicron variant.
Americans are less willing to give boosters, in part because public health information is changing so quickly, and some experts say there isn’t much U.S. data to prove the benefits of boosters.
In addition, the public also has misunderstandings. Some people think that since the second or third dose may still be diagnosed, why bother?
According to the CDC, only 82.5 million, or 39.3%, of Americans who have completed the COVID-19 booster vaccine received a third dose.