The booster vaccination against the coronavirus has been used in Israel for several months. How effectively does the third syringe protect against severe disease or death from Covid-19? Researchers have investigated these questions in a study.
Booster, booster or booster vaccination: The third dose of corona mRNA vaccines has several names. recommends the third Piks currently for people over 70 years of age, immunocompromised, people in need of care, nursing staff and people in medical professions with direct patient contact. These people can have a third injection six months after the last vaccination at the earliest. A booster is also recommended for people who have only received the one-time vaccination from Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) – from four weeks after the Janssen vaccination. According to the information provided by, almost 2.1 million people in Germany have received a booster vaccination so far.
The booster has been in use in Israel for several months. The general vaccination campaign also started earlier there than in other countries. Even younger cohorts there are called for third-party vaccination. This has not yet been the case in Germany, but the Federal Ministry of Health emphasizes that in principle all people are entitled to a booster – regardless of a recommendation by Stiko. In practice, third-party vaccination without a Stiko recommendation is sometimes difficult, as many medical professionals follow the recommendations of the vaccination experts.
For researchers, the long-term use of booster vaccinations in Israel offers an exciting starting point: You can use what are known as “Real-World”-Data is examining how effective the third dose protects against severe courses of Covid-19 and death. After all, that’s what it’s all about: Vaccines should prevent the most serious diseases and save lives.
A study that investigates these questions was recently published in the specialist journal “” appeared. Researchers led by Noam Barda from the Clalit Research Institute in Tel Aviv formed two groups of almost 730,000 people each. One group had already received a third vaccination, the other had basic vaccination with two doses of vaccine. In Israel, only the vaccine from Biontech / Pfizer is used.
The researchers observed the study participants for an average of around two weeks. The observation period started no earlier than seven days after the third vaccination. In the two-fold vaccinees, the last dose was at least five months ago. The mean age was 52 years. 51 percent of the study participants were female.
A direct comparison showed that the triple vaccinated were even better protected against severe courses with hospitalization and Covid-19-related deaths. It is already known that the immune protection decreases over time after the vaccination.
Effectiveness against hospital admission: In the group of people with a third-party vaccination, 29 people had to be treated in hospital due to corona disease. In the group of people with two doses of vaccine, there were 231 people. The researchers give the effectiveness of the third vaccination at 93 percent.
Effectiveness against severe courses: According to the authors, 17 people who had been vaccinated three times became seriously ill with Corona – compared to 157 people in the comparison group. The effectiveness is given with 92 percent.
Effectiveness against deaths: Seven triple vaccinated people died of Covid-19 during the observation period. Among the twice vaccinated there were 44. The effectiveness is given as 81 percent.
Additional protection through booster
The bottom line is that the results show that the immune protection can be improved again by a third vaccination and very reliably prevents severe courses up to Covid-19-related deaths, although – as always in medicine – there is no one hundred percent protection. For risk groups such as the elderly and the chronically ill, the results are of particular interest – especially if the last vaccination was more than six months ago.
It is important to emphasize: The study does not show that the immune protection is poor after two vaccinations, but that it can be refreshed or improved by a third vaccination. In principle, good protection can also be expected from double immunization, as a recent study by the French Institute with data on around 7.7 million fully vaccinated people aged 50 and over and just as many unvaccinated people showed. The vaccines from Biontech / Pfizer, Moderna and Astrazeneca reduced the number of expected severe disease courses in this age group by more than 90 percent.
+++ +++
Against this background and in view of the globally unfairly distributed quantities of vaccines, nationwide booster vaccinations are not without controversy. It’s like distributing extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets, while other people without any protection go completely empty, said World Health Organization emergency coordinator Mike Ryan a few weeks ago. What is undisputed, however, is the benefit of booster vaccinations for certain risk groups such as the very old.
In Germany, the experts at Stiko are currently advising whether they will make a booster recommendation for all population groups. “A decision will be made in a few weeks”, said Stiko boss Thomas Mertens The decisive question in this case is whether this can slow down the spread of the virus, said Mertens.
Source From: Stern
