Jerusalem : The Omicron-optimized COVID-19 vaccine booster developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE sharply reduced hospitalizations among older patients, Israeli researchers said on Monday, in some of the first evidence of the jab’s real-world effectiveness.
The study, conducted by researchers from healthcare provider Clalit, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Sapir College, has not yet been peer-reviewed.
It found an 81% reduction in hospitalizations among people age 65 and older who had previously received at least two COVID vaccinations but did not receive the Omicron-optimized shot.
The study was conducted from late September to mid-December and looked at 622,701 people aged 65 and over who were eligible for a bivalent booster. Of those, 85,314 or 14% had received it.
“6 bivalent recipients and 297 participants who were not hospitalized due to COVID-19 were not found,” the study said. “Death due to COVID-19 occurred in 1 bivalent recipient and 73 participants who did not.”
The researchers said that although the 86% drop in mortality was statistically borderline due to the relatively low mortality rate in the country, it was still significant.
“Participants who received the bivalent vaccine had lower rates of hospitalization and mortality due to COVID-19 than non-recipients up to 70 days after vaccination.”
While the bivalent vaccine targets the original strain and its BA.4/BA.5 omicron subvariant, scientists are looking closely at another omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, which is spreading rapidly in the United States.
The text of this story is published from a wire agency feed without any modification. Only the headline has been changed.
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