Booster doses of Pfizer and Moderna's coronavirus vaccines not only prevent infections from the contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 but also
prevent severe illness and hospitalization
, according to three reports released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC stressed that booster doses are 90% effective against hospitalization for omicron and also reduce the likelihood of going to an emergency room or urgent care clinic, especially in people 50 years of age or older, as reported by the CDC. newspaper The New York Times.
A person receives their booster shot at Roseland Community Hospital in Illinois. Chicago Tribune via Getty Images
To date, however, only 39% of people vaccinated with the first doses have also received the booster, according to The Washington Post, which reinforces the debate about whether someone who does not have the booster can be considered fully vaccinated. .
The new data show that, in general,
the vaccines were more effective
against the delta variant than against omicron;
the latter, according to laboratory studies, is capable of partially eluding the body's immune response.