Pfizer Vaccine protection after 6 months: Covid 47%, Hospitalisation 90%

New data this week shows that the Pfizer vaccine which has proven to be 88% effective against Covid-19 dropped to just 47% efficacy six months after the second dose. The report published Monday in the Lancet public medical journal had originally been released in August before being peer-reviewed, and lays clear the need for booster shots as efficacy drops.

Data from the study shows that it is likely in fact a drop-in efficacy and not the rise of more contagious variants as, while the vaccine may not prevent the transmission of a Covid-19 over time, the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing hospitalisation and death remain at 90% at least 6 months. The chief medical officer at Pfizer said that analysis of its effect on all variants of concern show the vaccine to be effective.

Approximately 3.4 million health cases from members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California were studied as the medical group teamed up with Pfizer to monitor the effects from December 2020, when the vaccine first became available until August of 2021.

The study showed that even against the Delta variant, the Pfizer vaccine was 93% effective in the first month, though after 4 months it declined to 53%. For other variants, it declined 30% from 97 to 67%. This is good news as many had feared the Delta variant could be what they call an escape variant that is mutated far enough that vaccines are of little effect against the strain, but this data suggests that is not the case.

One limitation of the study, however, was that information was not recorded regarding occupations and mask-wearing, both of which could affect the exposure and risk of the patient as well as the frequency that the patient is tested for Covid-19.

Currently, the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for use as a booster in older adults and some high-risk people, but are still looking at more data to decide whether it would be recommended for all people.

SOURCE: Asia News Today