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The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine is 90 percent effective in preventing hospitalization for up to six months and shows no signs of waning during that time. according to a major new US study It was conducted by researchers at Pfizer and Kaiser Permanente.
The scientists found that the vaccine also offered strong protection against the highly contagious Delta variant. In a group of people who sequenced samples of the virus, the vaccine was 93 percent effective against hospitalization from Delta and 95 percent against hospitalization from other variants.
“Protection against hospitalization remains high over time, even when the delta is dominant,” said Sara Tartof, epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California and first author of the study.
The effectiveness of the vaccine against infection decreased over time, but dropped from 88 percent in the first month after vaccination to 47 percent five months later.
The findings, published Monday in The Lancet, come amid a debate over whether and when booster shots are necessary. Food and Drug Administration have authorized boosters For Pfizer vaccine recipients 65 years of age or older or at high risk of infection or serious illness. And the Biden administration has pushed for boosters to be made more common to the general population.
But many scientists and public health experts have backed off, arguing that the country’s priority should be to vaccinate people who haven’t yet been vaccinated, and that vaccines still offer good protection against the worst outcomes, including serious illness and death.
Data Shows from Israel The effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against infection fell to 39 percent in late June and early July, from 95 percent in January to early April. But during that time it remained more than 90 percent effective against serious diseases.
On the other hand, a last study The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the vaccine was effective against hospitalizations. fell to 77 percent four months later, compared to 91 percent in the first few months.
In the new study, researchers analyzed the electronic health records of more than 3.4 million Kaiser Permanente Southern California members between December 14, 2020 and August 8, 2021.
Overall, the vaccine was 90 percent effective against hospitalization and 73 percent effective against infection. Among those 65 and older, it was 86 percent effective against hospitalization and 61 percent effective against infection.
Researchers sequenced more than 5,000 virus samples. Overall, the Delta variant made up 28 percent of these samples, although it was the dominant variant in June and July.
The vaccine was slightly less effective against Delta than the other variants, providing 75 percent protection against infection with Delta and 91 percent protection against other variants.
But the researchers found that protection against infection declined at a similar rate over time. After four months, the effectiveness against the infection dropped to 53 percent against Delta and 67 percent against other variants.
Dr. Tartof said the findings could provide fuel to both sides of the empowering debate.
“The question is, what do you want your booster program to do?” said. Some might say this data supports boosters because there has been an increase in breakthrough infections over time, he said. But others may point to the vaccine’s continued protection against serious illness and argue that boosters are not necessary.
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