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Eugene

(62,736 posts)
Wed Jul 28, 2021, 07:27 PM Jul 2021

Citing New Data, Pfizer Outlines Case for Booster Shots

Source: New York Times

Citing New Data, Pfizer Outlines Case for Booster Shots

Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine may become slightly weaker over time, the company reported. But experts said that most people won’t need boosters anytime soon.

By Carl Zimmer, Apoorva Mandavilli and Sharon LaFraniere
July 28, 2021, 3:14 p.m. ET

Pfizer reported on Wednesday that the power of its two-dose Covid vaccine wanes slightly over time, but nonetheless offers lasting and robust protection against serious disease. The company suggested that a third shot could improve immunity, but whether boosters will be widely needed is far from settled, the subject of heated debate among scientists.

So far, federal health officials have said boosters for the general population are unnecessary. And experts questioned whether vaccinated people should get more doses when so many people have yet to be immunized at all.

“There’s not enough evidence right now to support that that is somehow the best use of resources,” said Natalie Dean, a biostatician at Emory University in Atlanta.

Still, the findings raise questions about how well the Pfizer vaccine will prevent infection in the months to come. And with coronavirus cases surging again in many states, the data may influence the Biden administration’s deliberations about delivering boosters for older people.

If third shots are cleared for the general population, the boosters would likely represent a multi-billion-dollar business for Pfizer.

In a study posted online but not yet peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal, ...

-snip-


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/28/health/pfizer-booster-shots.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqohkT1UZCybVUNEjsh3BnfbO0rEmw3X5KzOJRCwH1OQSH5PG-1vIYeArQeoP6AmhZY0LNq4zFrs1x_VDPkdpRk73_5DZx58Mf2BootvuGz5r0sOIDe5p-nqzYzXkdrp0mu3jsUvMeCK9DvykpH4kLAxmqZNifEj7miBbg_eYTZMmn4V2zvwjBZhlRDkfZynsvvDgCBl2Ot_ufQiLo0BtGLkfAWeP6Ibav7EQcwxSCUbERWd84gs-6dBcPNAWPsXvPhPBdlhjawJRcZnsXnmZNdM&smid=url-share
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Citing New Data, Pfizer Outlines Case for Booster Shots (Original Post) Eugene Jul 2021 OP
after six months the Pfizer vaccine is still 84% effective JohnSJ Jul 2021 #1

JohnSJ

(96,771 posts)
1. after six months the Pfizer vaccine is still 84% effective
Wed Jul 28, 2021, 07:28 PM
Jul 2021

https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/28/efficacy-of-pfizer-biontech-covid-vaccine-slips-to-84-after-six-months-data-show/

Pfizer has a specific booster for the Delta variant, that is going through testing right now, but that can't be released until the testing is finished, and then gets EUA

I suspect similar data will show up with the Moderna vaccine


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