Long-Term Facility Residents Should Receive a Fourth Dose of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine

Beyond the two-dose primary series for COVID-19 vaccination, the U.S. CDC recommends two additional booster doses for older adults (age, ≥50) and for moderately or severely immunocompromised adults and adolescents (age, ≥12). In this prospective cohort study, researchers determined the associations between receiving a fourth dose of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and protection against SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths during the Omicron surge of January through March 2022. Participants were 44,000 residents (mean age, 80) of long-term care facilities in Israel; half of these residents received a fourth dose of BNT162b2; the others received only three doses, administered ≥4 months previously.

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