[ad_1]
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine remains 90% effective in reducing a person’s risk of hospitalization with the virus six months after its administration, according to a new study. This is true even in the face of the delta variant as well as if the person has not received a callback.
Yet when it comes to preventing infections, the vaccine’s effectiveness declines rapidly over time, according to the study. After five months, it is only 47% effective in preventing infection.
In the study, funded by Pfizer, researchers evaluated data from Kaiser Permanente and calculated the percentages of fully vaccinated patients who contracted COVID-19 on a monthly basis after vaccination. Data from about 3.4 million people was analyzed between December 2020 and August 2021.
MORE: EU regulator approves Pfizer vaccine booster for 18+
The study’s results are in line with previously published data from Israel and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which looked at the vaccine’s effectiveness over time, but the Pfizer-funded study is the first to examine the impact of the delta variant on the Pfizer vaccine. efficiency over time.
“The vaccine’s efficacy against delta and non-delta variants remained high during the study, suggesting that the vaccines worked well even when a variant was present,” Dr. Simone Wildes, an infectious disease specialist and ABC News contributor, mentioned.
The delta variant was virtually non-existent in the United States when mass vaccinations began in the winter, but it now comprises more than 99% of all coronavirus cases in the country.
According to the study, vaccines may be less effective for the elderly and those with underlying drug conditions.
The new data is particularly timely given that the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC recently authorized booster shots of Pfizer vaccine in people who fall into certain risk categories – many of whom are more than six months after their first dose.
MORE: EU Medicines Regulator Says It Supports Boosting Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine To People 18 Years And Over
“Our findings support policymakers who continue to monitor vaccine efficacy over time,” said Sara Y. Tartof, PhD, MPH, infectious disease epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation, and senior author of the study. “Given the observed decline, it will be vital for policy makers to assess whether recommendations for booster doses can be justified …
The study followed the patients for almost six months, but experts are still unsure whether the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine continues to decline over time or plateaus. It is also unclear what happens to the effectiveness of the vaccine after the third shot or how factors such as compliance with mask warrants and social distancing measures might impact the data.
Ronnye Rutledge, a Boston medical resident in internal medicine and pediatrics, contributes to the ABC News medical unit.
Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations, even with delta variant: study originally published on abcnews.go.com
[ad_2]
Source link