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Fourth dose of Pfizer vaccine protects medicos against COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths: JAMA
![Fourth dose of Pfizer vaccine protects medicos against COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths: JAMA Fourth dose of Pfizer vaccine protects medicos against COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths: JAMA](https://medicaldialogues.in/h-upload/2022/06/24/750x450_179338-untitled-design-1.webp)
Israel: In residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs), the fourth dose of the Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) COVID-19 vaccine was associated with high protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths during a surge associated with the Omicron variant, showed a study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine.
Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) provide a variety of services, both medical and personal care, to people who are unable to live independently. Elderly residents of these LTCFs are at greater risk of severe and fatal COVID-19, due to reduced immunity following vaccination with COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and rapid decline in the immune response after 2 vaccine doses.
The vaccination campaign with the third BNT162b2 dose among LTCF residents showed high vaccine uptake and rapid declines in the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 hospitalizations. To control the substantial surge of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, the administration of a fourth BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine dose was approved for individuals 60 years or older who were vaccinated with a third dose 4 months previously or earlier. Nonetheless, the association between receipt of the fourth dose and protection against infection remains elusive.
A team of investigators led by Khitam Muhsen, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel tried to determine the association of the fourth BNT162b2 dose with protection against SARS-CoV-2–related infections, hospitalizations, and deaths during the Omicron surge in long-term care facility (LTCF) residents.
Investigators analyzed the data of 43 775 LTCF residents (mean [SD] age, 80.1 [9.4] years; 29 679 women [67.8%]) of whom 24 088 (55.0%) received the fourth dose and19 687 (45.0%) received third dose (4 months previously or earlier). The median follow-up time was 73 days (4-dose group: IQR, 6 days; 3-dose group: IQR, 56 days). Cumulative incidences of SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths during the Omicron surge were set as the main outcomes.
Key findings of the study,
• More than 7 days post-vaccination with the fourth dose, SARS-CoV-2 infection was detected among 4058 fourth-dose vs 4370 third-dose recipients (cumulative incidence, 17.6% vs 24.9%).
• The corresponding incidences of hospitalizations for mild-to-moderate COVID-19, severe illness, and mortality were 0.9% and 2.8%, 0.5% and 1.5%, and 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively
• The adjusted protections were 34%, 64%, and 67%, against overall infection, hospitalizations for mild-to-moderate illness, and severe illness, respectively, and 72% against related deaths.
Investigators thus conclude that a receipt of a fourth BNT162b2 dose is strongly associated with increased protection against COVID-19 hospitalizations, severe disease, and deaths during the Omicron surge as compared to 3 doses administered 4 months previously or earlier among LTCF residents.
Investigators also observed the presence of moderate protection against overall SARS-CoV-2 infection among LTCF elderly residents.
Reference:
Muhsen K, Maimon N, Mizrahi AY, et al. Association of Receipt of the Fourth BNT162b2 Dose With Omicron Infection and COVID-19 Hospitalizations Among Residents of Long-term Care Facilities. JAMA Intern Med. Published online June 23, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.2658
BDS
Dr. Hiral patel (BDS) has completed BDS from Gujarat University, Baroda. She has worked in private dental steup for 8years and is currently a consulting general dentist in mumbai. She has recently completed her advanced PG diploma in clinical research and pharmacovigilance. She is passionate about writing and loves to read, analyses and write informative medical content for readers. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.
Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: editorial@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751