Covid-19 vaccines are still “stunningly effective” despite fears that immunity may dwindle over time, experts have said.
Lessons from Israel:
Israel’s vaccination rollout was one of the fastest in the world. But despite this, the number of Covid-19 cases in Israel have been rising sharply since July.
An earlier English study, published in May, found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective at preventing symptomatic disease from the delta variant. Against the alpha variant, once the dominant strain in the U.K., the vaccine was 93% effective at preventing symptomatic disease.
Are booster shots the answer?
Several more countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., are now offering — or planning to offer — third doses of Covid-19 vaccines to help boost immunity to the virus that may have depleted.
“Unfortunately, it’s not even [going to be] annually, it will be twice annually,” he predicted. “The virus has a huge potential for new variants, many which will work to silence immunity — so there’s a chance that we’ll need further boosters in the future.”
However, he said that booster shots may eventually become necessary if data prove the vaccines’ efficacy against severe disease and death wanes over time.
Reference: CNBC
Read More: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/
Thai
Eng