Study: Booster dose of Pfizer vaccine protects against Omicron
Israeli researchers said Saturday that they found that three doses of the Pfizer/Biontech vaccine provided significant protection against the new strain of coronavirus, Omicron.
A few days ago, Pfizer and Biotech presented similar results, which were an early indication that a booster dose of the vaccine may be necessary to protect against infection with the Omicron strain.
The study, conducted by the Sheba Medical Center and the Central Laboratory of Virology of the Israeli Ministry of Health, compared the blood of 20 people who received two doses of the vaccine five or six months ago with the blood of a similar number of individuals who received a booster dose a month ago.
“Those who received the second dose five or six months ago have no ability to neutralize omicron, while they have some ability to counteract (the strain) delta,” Gili Regev Yochai, director of the infectious disease unit at Sheba Medical Center told reporters.
"The good news is that the booster dose increases (resistance to the strain) about a hundredfold," she added.
The booster dose offers great protection.
It is four times less than the neutralization capacity against a delta.”
The Israeli research comes after a study from South Africa that found that the Omicron strain can infect those who received both doses of the vaccine.
Last Thursday, the European Medicines Regulatory Authority announced that giving the booster doses was “safe and effective” three months after the last dose.
Previously, and before the latest announcement, the same authority had recommended waiting six months before giving booster doses.
“The current recommendation is that it is preferable to give the booster doses six months after [the last dose],” said Marco Cavalieri, head of vaccination strategy at the Amsterdam-based agency.
He added, "However, currently available data indicate that the administration of booster doses is safe and effective as of three months after the initial vaccination, if such a short period is required from a public health perspective."
He also reiterated that it is "too early to say whether vaccine formulations should be changed" to combat the Omicron mutant.
And the regulatory body had announced a short time ago that it may license modified vaccines to combat the new mutant within three or four months, if necessary.
“Companies that offer anti-Covid vaccines are required to submit their laboratory results to determine their level of inactivation of Omicron,” Cavalieri said.