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A serological study conducted in an Israeli hospital found that the levels of antibodies in the body after the administration of a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine were ten times higher than those detected after the second dose.
The preliminary results, seen among vaccinated staff at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, outside Tel Aviv, have fueled optimism about how long the booster will retain its protection, public broadcaster Kan reported on Tuesday.
The study compared antibody levels one week after the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine was given to its staff to their levels one week after the second dose was given.
The hospital told the network it is treating the results with caution and will continue to observe antibody levels over the next few months.
Israel – the first country to officially offer a third dose – began its COVID recall campaign on August 1, initially rolling it out to people over 60. It then gradually lowered the age of eligibility, eventually extending it to anyone aged 12 and over. who received the second injection at least five months ago.
As of Wednesday, nearly 3 million Israelis had received a third dose.
Coronavirus czar Salman Zarka called on the country to start preparing for possibly administering the fourth doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
Coronavirus czar Professor Salman Zarka attends a press conference on the coronavirus in Jerusalem on August 29, 2021 (Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90)
“Since the virus is here and will continue to be there, we also need to prepare for a fourth injection,” Zarka told Kan on September 4.
He did not say when the fourth vaccine could possibly be given.
“Thinking about… the decline of vaccines and antibodies, it seems like every few months – it could be once a year or five or six months – we will need another injection,” he told the Times of Israel last month.
The Department of Health also announced earlier this month that the “Green Pass” – a document that allows entry into certain gatherings and public places for those who are vaccinated or have recovered from the coronavirus – will expire six months after that the holder has received their second or third dose, suggesting that a fourth dose may be given in six months.
However, the high level of antibodies seen in Sheba’s new data could mean that a fourth dose should only be given after a longer period, according to the Kan report.
Earlier this week, 18 leading scientists and two exiting FDA officials claimed that there is currently no need for the general population to receive a third dose.
The report, published in the medical journal The Lancet, concluded that even with the threat of the hyperinfectious Delta variant of the virus, “booster doses for the general population are not appropriate at this stage of the pandemic.”
An Israeli receives a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a temporary vaccination center run by the Jerusalem Municipality and Home Front Command outside Jerusalem City Hall on August 30, 2021 (Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90)
After some countries, including Israel, started offering booster shots for fear of the much more contagious Delta variant, the World Health Organization called for a moratorium on third injections over concerns about the vaccine supply to the poorest countries, where millions of people have yet to receive their first injection.
“I will not remain silent when the companies and countries that control the global vaccine supply think the world’s poor should be content with leftovers,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said last Wednesday.
Speaking from WHO headquarters in Geneva, Tedros urged rich countries and vaccine makers to prioritize early vaccines to health workers and vulnerable populations in poorer countries rather than boosters.
“We don’t want to see widespread use of boosters for healthy people who are fully vaccinated,” he said.
AFP contributed to this report.
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