Booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine increased protection against both Delta and Omicron variants in three studies that looked at infections, hospitalizations, and deaths in thousands of US patients.
The third dose of messenger RNA vaccine made by Moderna Inc. and the partnership of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE are at least 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations in both Delta and Omicron stages, according to an analysis of hundreds of thousands of hospital admissions and clinic visits. The shot’s ability to protect against death from COVID was reduced after Rise of Omicron, but still significant, according to a separate study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The urgency for vaccinations and boosters has been highlighted amid reports that Omicrons cause milder disease compared to previous variants. However, many hospitals are still overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients infected with Omicron, making prevention an important part of the fight against the coronavirus.
The booster dose has been controversial, as many low- and middle-income countries have been unable to secure even the first injections of their populations. Covax, the World Health Organization-backed program to distribute equitable doses globally, recently reached the milestone of distributing 1 billion doses of the drug, while more than 500 million doses have been administered alone. in U.S.A. WHO has not endorsed the use of boosters, with the exception of vulnerable populations, such as the sick and elderly.
About 63% of the US population is fully immunized and only 24% have received a booster dose, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine monitor. That compares with the 49% increase in Germany and 55% in the UK
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The hospital admissions study, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, analyzed more than 300,000 visits for COVID-like illness in emergency departments, urgent care clinics, and hospitalizations. in 10 states from August to January. The drug reduced the risk of hospitalization by 94% during the Delta era and 90% after the rise of Omicron.
In another study published by the CDC, unvaccinated people were 53 times more likely to die from COVID in October and November than those who were vaccinated and boosted. The increase in risk for unvaccinated people was reduced to 13-fold during the Omicron rise, suggesting the potential for evading vaccine protection.
The booster is further supported by a third study that found supplemental dosages provided significant protection against symptomatic COVID caused by both Delta and Omicron. People who received the third dose were less likely to seek care for symptomatic infections than those who received only two or no shots, according to research in JAMA Medical journal.
Health officials have been looking for other ways to limit the spread of Omicron, such as encouraging wider use. Medical grade masks was intended for medical staff. The highly contagious variant was first detected late last year in South Africa and Botswana and quickly spread around the world within weeks.
The variant was first confirmed in a US patient on December 1, but genetic evidence from wastewater showed that it had started spreading in the country days to weeks earlier.
