Posted on 09/17/21
| News Source: i24
Research expected to guide FDA decision on approving third Pfizer dose in US
A new Israeli study published in the The New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday says a third Pfizer booster shot lowers the likelihood of developing a serious coronavirus case by almost 20 times.
The study looked at 1.1 million Israelis, and showed that the rate of infection was 11.3 times less in those who received the third vaccine dose than the second dose five months ago.
The Weizmann Institute of Science, the Ministry of Health, the Technion, the Hebrew University, Sheba Medical Center and the KI Institute collaborated for the study.
The group that did not receive boosters had 4,439 infections and 294 severe illnesses, while the much larger booster group had 934 infections and 29 severe cases.
The Israeli research is expected to be used by the US Food and Drug Administration in deciding whether to approve a third Pfizer vaccine dose.
Israel began offering boosters to older Israelis on July 30, opening up boosters for all the following month.
While Israel's daily cases have dramatically risen in recent weeks, experts are banking on high vaccination rates to keep severe infections down.