How effective is the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine? Scientists have no doubts

The arrival of the SARS-CoV-2 virus Omikron variant drastically changed the landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic and generated an increase in the number of new cases. Studies have shown that the fourth dose of the vaccine is associated with lower rates of infection and severity, and is highly effective against COVID-19-related mortality compared to the third dose. Here’s what we know about the effectiveness of the second booster.

1. COVID-19 booster vaccinations may further strengthen or restore protection that may have decreased over time following primary immunization.     
2. We will have the best protection against severe COVID-19 disease by keeping up to date with vaccines, which means taking all the recommended booster doses for which we qualify.
3. There are specific recommendations for vaccination against COVID-19 for vulnerable people, such as the elderly. It is important for them to receive the vaccine on time
4. Let us remind you that in Poland, the fourth dose can be taken by people who have reached 60 years of age, as well as those with reduced immunity who are over 12 years old.
5. The fourth dose for “all adults” was announced by the Minister of Health, Adam Niedzielski, for September this year
6. More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.

Is it worth taking a second booster dose? The second booster also protects against other variants of the virus

In one of the first studies on the effectiveness of a second mRNA booster against the COVID-19 variant, Omicron conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that the second booster significantly improved efficacy against the widespread Omikron variants BA .1 and BA.2 / BA.2.12.1.

For the first booster dose, vaccine efficacy against these variants was only 68%. (lower than against the previous variants) and fell to 52%. after six months. Thanks to the adoption of the second booster, the effectiveness against these variants increased to 80%. in the first six months. Data on efficacy after six months are not yet available.

The study analyzed the effectiveness of the second booster dose in reducing the number of hospitalizations associated with the Omikron BA.1 and BA.2 / BA.2.12.1 mutations and emergency department visits (AEDs), and found that the booster protected against both hospitalizations and visits to emergency departments. SOR.

The results of this study are important as they provide answers to the question many people ask themselves: “Should I get a second booster injection?”

“ The data clearly shows that the second booster significantly enhances vaccine efficacy against these variants which, while no longer dominant in many areas, are still present, ” said Dr. Shaun Grannis, vice president of data and analytics at the Regenstrief Institute and professor of family medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, one of the authors of the study.

When we enter the fall season, when viruses tend to thrive, we want to encourage people who qualify for a second booster to be proactive and strongly consider taking it as it will provide more protection. This will reduce the need for visits to emergency departments and hospitalization related to COVID-19, he argues.

In his view, from a population health standpoint, the protection provided by the second booster will ensure that medical services are able to respond to medical needs, reducing the risk of health systems being blocked by COVID-19 related diseases. “

In the elderly, boosters significantly reduce the number of deaths. But it is important to take the fourth dose on time

Some studies have focused on the effectiveness of the fourth dose in the most vulnerable part of the population – the elderly. The fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine resulted in a 72 percent reduction in deaths among the most vulnerable Israelis, according to studies from Tel Aviv University, Ben Gurion University and the Israeli Ministry of Health.

Israeli research has analyzed data on elderly people in nursing homes who received four vaccines, comparing them with those who received only three.The fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization for coronavirus infection by more than 60%. and reduced by 34 percent. risk of infection.

In turn, Swedish research published in The Lancet shows that the fourth dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine reduces all-cause premature mortality among nursing home residents and the oldest people compared to the third dose.

Therefore, according to the researchers, promoting a fourth dose for the oldest and weakest people could help prevent premature deaths, even after the release of the Omikron variant, which appears to be less severe compared to earlier variants.

However, it is important to timely administer these doses. Swedish researchers found that the relative protection provided by the fourth dose increased when compared to those after the third dose who had been vaccinated more than four months ago, indicating a rather limited durability of the third dose protection.

Protection after the fourth dose was shown to start to diminish somewhat after the first two months. These findings bring an important conclusion – they emphasize the importance of timely administration of the fourth dose in the elderly and the weak. This is confirmed by the results of previous studies showing that the effect of COVID-19 vaccination weakens with age, especially after the age of 80.

People vaccinated with three or four doses have much better protection than those who take two

Three or more new studies show that people who took three or four doses of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine have significantly better protection against infection with the Omikron variant than those who received only two.

In one, researchers in Israel tested the efficacy of the fourth dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech mRNA vaccine against COVID-19 in 29 healthcare workers in 611 hospitals who received three doses of the vaccine in August or September 11. The Omikron wave in Israel began in December 2021

Researchers tested workers for COVID-19 using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) only after symptoms developed or exposure to the virus. Of all participants, 5331 (18%) received a fourth dose in January 2022 and were followed until January 31, 2022.

The infection rate was 7 percent. in workers who received four doses of the vaccine, compared with 20 percent. (4802 out of 24280) who only got three. No serious illness or death was reported in any of the groups.

“Given the high infectivity of the Omikron variant, which has led to critical shortages in medical personnel, a fourth dose of vaccine should be considered to alleviate the infection rate among healthcare professionals,” the authors wrote.

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