Preliminary Israeli data show that coronavirus-enhancing traits rapidly increase a person’s protection against both serious illness and infection, suggesting that additional traits could help curb the spread of the virus in the U.S., although which is not very well known how much.
Why it’s important: The Biden administration has said the main reason for its boost boost is to stay ahead of any decline in the effectiveness of vaccines against serious diseases. But slowing down the spread of the Delta variant would be a welcome advantage.
Leading the news: A prepress study recently published by Israeli researchers found that in the real world, adults who received a third shot of Pfizer saw their risk of confirmed infection reduced by 11.4 times after 12 days or more and his risk of serious illness decreased more than 10 times.
- Israel was the first nation in the world to offer booster shots to its population, starting with older adults.
- The study included more than a million people aged 60 and over and the authors argue that it “demonstrates the effectiveness of a third dose of vaccine in both reducing transmission and serious illness.”
- More data is needed to confirm the results of the study, which have not yet been peer-reviewed, experts warned. A particular limitation of this study is that, to begin with, people who receive reinforcement may have more risk aversion.
What they say: “Israel’s main takeaway message is that there is a positive short-term effect of the increases in both infection and serious illness,” said a senior Biden administration official, who added that the government Israeli recently informed members of the president’s coronavirus team about his data.
- “I never thought about short-term vaccines. This changes this paradigm. Once again, the jury has come out, but Israel is defending this case, “the official added.
Yes, but: Everyone who receives a booster vaccine is, by definition, vaccinated. The United States does not have good data on how many cases occur among vaccinated Americans, but most cases appear to be among unvaccinated people.
- Without knowing what contribution vaccinated people currently make to the spread of the virus or the burden of cases in the United States, it is impossible to know how much each could be reduced by giving them a chance for reinforcement.
- Giving a first round of shots to the unvaccinated would be a much more effective way to limit the spread. But ineligible children make up a large part of this population, along with vaccine-resistant adults who have so far been undisputed.
The summary: It is possible that the United States will begin offering booster shots to members of the general population within a few weeks. Data like this, despite its limitations, may be our best window, at least for now, on what the effect of the American effort may be.