Pfizer-BioNTech Report ‘Encouraging’ Data on the Efficacy of Booster Shots

Pfizer-BioNTech said in a statement on July 8 that data from studies looking at the effects of a booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine are “encouraging.” The companies are testing a third dose of its two-dose regimen—currently permitted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under an emergency use authorization—to see how effective the added shot might be in controlling variants of SARS-CoV-2 that are now overtaking the original virus that the vaccines were targeting. Early data from those studies showed that a booster dose, given six months after the second dose, triggers five to 10 times the level of virus-neutralizing antibodies as the two-dose shots against the original virus and against the Beta variant, which was first identified in South Africa. That’s reassuring given a recent statement from Israeli health officials saying that they’ve seen the level of vaccine-induced protection from the two-shot Pfizer-BioNTech regimen start to decline after about six months. Part of that may have to do with the rise of the Delta variant, which is more transmissible; adding another dose could increase the longevity of high-level immunity. The Pfizer-BioNTech studies do not directly address the Delta variant, which is now the dominant version of the virus in the U.S., but the companies say they are also developing a new vaccine designed specifically to target the Delta version of the virus. The companies are also testing a vaccine they devel...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news