A new study by Clalit Health Services on the effectiveness of the fourth vaccine dose was published yesterday (Wednesday) and found a 61% reduction in symptomatic infection, a 64% reduction in serious illness, and a 76% reduction in deaths among people aged 60 and over who were vaccinated compared to unvaccinated peers.
This is the most comprehensive study to date on the effects of the fourth vaccine to prevent coronary heart disease and mortality, and it analyzes data from 182 people aged 60 and over who were vaccinated in a fourth dose compared to a similar number of people aged 60 and over with a "veteran" third vaccine (vaccinated four months or more ago).
The study was published in the world's leading medical journal, The New England Journal of Medicine and was conducted in collaboration with Orvard University.
The study evaluated the efficacy of the fourth dose in preventing a wide range of virus effects in the period ranging from January 3, 2022 to February 18, 2022, while the omicron strain was common in Israel.
The results of the study show that the fourth vaccine cream is effective in each of the corona outcomes tested: within a period of two weeks to one month after receiving the fourth dose, a 52% reduction in infection cases, a 61% reduction in symptomatic infection, a 72% reduction in hospitalizations, a 64% reduction in disease Severe, and a 76% reduction in deaths compared with those vaccinated with the third dose at least 4 months earlier.
PCR test rates were similar in the fourth vaccine group and the control group.
Clalit establishes 35 corona detection centers, Photo: Yehoshua Yosef
According to Prof. Ran Blitzer, director of the Clalit Research Institute and head of Clalit's Innovation Division, "The results from the fourth vaccination campaign for those aged 60 and over clearly demonstrate that the fourth vaccine cream significantly protects against coronary heart disease complications - including a four-fold reduction in mortality. "The results of the study can help anyone make an informed decision about the need for vaccination according to personal risk. In our opinion, the results of the study target the elderly population and the risk of disease complications to choose to be vaccinated in the fourth dose, in any country in the world.
Dr. Roni Vered, Medical Director of Tel Aviv District at Clalit and co-researcher, adds: "Community medicine teams were once again able to lead an extensive vaccination operation in a short time for an injured population, and the data from the study show that the vaccination saved the lives of an elderly and injured population."
Dr. Dror Dicker, director of the internal medicine department at Hasharon Hospital from the Clalit Group and a co-researcher, adds: For those who are in the relevant age group and have not yet received the fourth dose - go out and get vaccinated. "
Prof. Ben Rice, head of a predictive medicine group at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and co-researcher at the Clalit Research Institute, adds, "Currently, one of the main reasons for hesitation about receiving the fourth vaccine is a lack of information about its efficacy." "Regarding the causes of the vaccine. We hope that the research will help make a decision for those who are in a risk group and have not yet been vaccinated in the fourth dose."
Fourth effective Pfizer vaccine against corona, Photo: Reuters
The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University and clinicians from Clalit's provinces and hospitals, is the first in the world to evaluate the efficacy of the fourth dose of the vaccine in preventing the entire coronary heart disease range: from infection, symptomatic morbidity, to hospitalizations, severe coronary heart disease and death.
As you may recall, a previous Clalit study showed that a fourth vaccine reduced the risk of mortality by 60-plus people by 78%.
A data analysis conducted by the Ministry of Health and the Weizmann Institute found that the third vaccine three times reduced the risk of a serious illness.
https://www.israelhayom.co.il/health/article/9758820
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