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JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Most people who received a third dose of Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine experienced similar or less side effects than after receiving the second injection, according to an initial survey in Israel.
Israel began offering the booster shots about 10 days ago to people over 60 as part of efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. This effectively turned Israel into a testing ground for a third dose ahead of US Food and Drug Administration approval.
Israel’s largest healthcare provider, Clalit, said on Sunday it had administered a third dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine to more than 240,000 people.
About 4,500 people, all of whom received the reminder from July 30 to August 1, responded to the questions and were included in the survey.
Eighty-eight percent of survey participants said that within days of the third injection, they felt “similar or better” to what they felt after the second injection.
Thirty-one percent reported side effects, the most common being pain at the injection site.
About 0.4% said they had difficulty breathing and 1% said they sought medical treatment for one or more side effects.
Ran Balicer, Clalit’s chief innovation officer, said that although the results are “initial and self-reported,” they allow for a comparison of side effects with the second dose, and “it turns out that in most cases, they are similar or less the booster. “
“While we do not yet have any long-term research on the effectiveness and safety of the third booster dose, for the personal risk management of anyone aged 60 and over, these results continue to hold true. indicate the benefits of vaccination now, as well as careful behavior among adults and avoiding congregating in confined spaces, ”Balicer said.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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