A fourth dose of anti-COVID vaccine provides marginal benefits against omicron, study reveals

A fourth dose of existing mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 may have only marginal benefits” for healthy young adults, according to a new Israeli study.

The authors of the study, led by Gili Regev Yochaywrote that their research seems to indicate that the advantages of the three doses of the vaccine designed against the original strain of the coronavirus had peaked in terms of immune response.

Also, the additional reinforcements only restored diminished immunity, rather than taking it to new heights.

“We observed low vaccine efficacy against infections in healthcare workers, as well as relatively high viral loads that suggested those infected were infectious. Therefore, a fourth vaccination of young, healthy health workers may have only marginal benefits.”they pointed out.

The research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, evaluated 270 healthcare workers at Tel Aviv’s Sheba Medical Center who received a second booster dose of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, four months after initially receiving three Pfizer vaccines.

The age of each was compared to that of two participants in a control group who had only received three doses of Pfizer, with the mean age of the groups ranging from their mid-50s to early 60s.

Usually, the fourth injection was found to be safe and increased receptor-neutralizing antibodies — which prevent the coronavirus from infecting cells — to levels comparable to just after the third dose, before antibody levels began to decline over time .

Those who received a fourth dose of Pfizer were 30% less likely to be infected than those who received three doses, while those who received modern they were 18% less likely.