The fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine resulted in a 72 percent reduction in deaths among the most vulnerable Israelis, The Times of Israel reported on Sunday, citing research results from Tel Aviv University, Ben Gurion University and the Israeli Ministry of Health.
This is the conclusion of a large Israeli study in which data on elderly people living in nursing homes were analyzedwho received four vaccinations compared to those who received only three. The study was conducted during the coronavirus epidemic last winter, in which the Omicron variant dominated.
The fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization for coronavirus infection by more than 60 percent and lowered the risk of infection by 34 percent.
«The big news is that the fourth dose has been protective for the most vulnerable elderly in care»Said one of the authors of the study, the epidemiologist Professor Khitam Muhsen of Tel Aviv University, in an interview with The Times of Israel, adding:« the fourth dose reduces hospitalization and death – saves lives. »
Professor Muhsen said that the results of the studies are very good, especially since before giving patients the fourth dose, it was not entirely clear whether it would be effective against the new version of the virus, especially against Omicron, which is much more difficult to combat by vaccines. because it has many more mutations than the previous variants.
Muhsen said the results confirm the Israeli authorities’ decision in December 2021 to give fourth doses, also known as second boosters, before most other countries took the step. «The decision to vaccinate vulnerable populations with a fourth dose was a wise choice that saved many lives»Said Professor Muhsen.
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Research about 40 elderly people were involvedwho live in institutions overseen by the Ministry of Health’s Senior Shield program, a task force launched by the government of Israel to oversee the prevention and control of COVID-19 in the country’s geriatric facilities.
The 24 residents of Senior Shield facilities who had received the fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine were compared with 088 residents who had received the first three doses four months or more prior to follow-up but who had not opted for a fourth injection.
Muhsen commented: “What we have learned is that although immunity weakens over time, the fourth dose enhances the neutralizing antibodies beyond the effects of the third dose. I strongly recommend that older people take a fourth dose ».
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The next wave of the Covid-19 virus pandemic has occurred in several European Union countries, including France and Germany, with the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants contributing to the increase in infections. After several months of declines, the number of new infections worldwide has increased for the fourth consecutive week, reports the World Health Organization (WHO). According to WHO, in the European region (including Europe, Our Country, Central Asia and Israel for statistical purposes) in the last week of June, half of the countries recorded at least a 20% increase in the number of infections.
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