Control study documented: Booster protection decreases after three months
Created: 05/07/2022 08:23
By: Sven Trautwein
According to a new control study, the protective effect of a booster vaccination against COVID-19 can wear off faster than previously thought.
Pasadena/California – New infections are still very high, while the hospitalization rate is quite low.
Researchers continue to assume that a booster vaccination is responsible for a mild course of a corona infection.
However, new test results show that the protective effect decreases faster after a booster than initially assumed.
As reported by Deutsches Ärzteblatt, new control studies published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine
published, a sharp drop in the protective effect for the mRNA vaccine from Biontech-Pfizer.
Booster Protection: Omicron variant has changed
The currently available vaccines are designed for the wild type of the corona virus.
According to the control study, the omicron variant no longer recognizes the sites where the virus attaches to the cells.
The protective effect drops.
This reduced protective effect was already apparent at the beginning of the omicron wave.
It led to increased vaccination breakthroughs.
The first studies showed that patients who had received a booster vaccination were usually only exposed to a mild course.
Immunologists hoped for longer-lasting protection after the booster vaccination.
Booster vaccination: Expectations were too optimistic
The Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Kaiser Permanente shows in a study that the assumption was too optimistic.
More than 11,000 patient data were evaluated who had been treated for possible COVID-19 disease at one of the HMO clinics within six months.
In the control study, the vaccination effectiveness against Delta and Omikron was determined.
The results showed that the protective effect decreased only slightly with a delta infection in the first six months.
The booster again increased this protective effect, but quickly fell off.
The protective effect after primary vaccination for omicron infection was lower from the start.
Since the basic immunization decreased more here, a booster was advertised.
In addition, there may be possible side effects after the booster vaccination.
Booster vaccination: Increased protective effect decreases
After the booster, Omikron also showed an increased protective effect, which, however, quickly decreased in the months that followed.
Summarizing the research results shows that the protection after the booster vaccination lasts around three months.
After that, it can no longer be expected.
Even if people fall ill with Covid-19 when they are boosted, experience has shown that Omikron shows corona symptoms for a shorter period of time than Delta.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
