JERUSALEM: After being the first country to roll out a fourth dosage of Covid vaccine, an Israeli study now claims that the second booster shot is insufficient to combat the Omicron variant.
Although the booster improves antibody levels, researchers at the Sheba Medical Centre, which initiated a trial in December 2021 to examine the efficiency of a fourth Covid shot, said there are "still a lot of infections" among individuals who had it, according to The Times of Israel.
The Omicron variant, which has the ability to evade vaccine protection, was only partially protected by the second booster. Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay, a main researcher in the trial, was reported as saying, "The vaccination, which was quite efficient against the prior strains, is less effective against the Omicron strain." "Antibodies have increased, and they are higher than they were after the third dose." "However, we notice a lot of Omicron-infected people who had the fourth dose." Although the number of infections was lower than in the control group, there were still a lot of them. "The main line is that while the vaccination is strong against the Alpha and Delta (variants), it isn't good enough for Omicron," she explained.
Israel began administering fourth vaccine injections to persons aged 60 and up, the immune-compromised, and medical personnel in December.
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