Are Four Doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Better than Three?

After a fourth dose in an Israeli study, vaccine effectiveness against infection waned rapidly in those older than 60 while prevention of severe disease was maintained for ≥10 weeks.

Expectations that a booster dose would provide long-lasting protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection have been dashed due to waning vaccine-induced immunity and emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. In a retrospective, case-control study of data from a large healthcare service, researchers in Israel have now evaluated whether a fourth dose of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine would bolster the protective effects of immunization in the short and long term among eligible COVID-19–naive individuals. Among 97,500 participants, 29% received a fourth vaccine dose. Because these recipients were more chronically ill than those who received only three doses, analysis was matched for confounders such as time of first test and month of receipt of thir…

Reviewing Author

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Thomas Glück, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsConsilium Infectiorum by InfectoPharm, Infection

Are Four Doses of Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Better than Three?

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Reviewing Author