[뉴욕=뉴스핌]Correspondent Kim Geun-cheol = A study in the United States showed that Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine booster shots (boost shot) could prevent hospitalization rates of up to 90% of those infected with the Omicron mutation.
According to three study reports published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the 21st (local time), those who received the booster shot in the United States were more sensitive to delta mutations as well as omicron mutations compared to those who received two doses. However, the New York Times (NYT) reported that the hospitalization rate was significantly reduced.
The New York Times reported that this study was not a clinical trial, but was the first widely conducted and reported on COVID-19 patients across the United States.
In particular, according to the results of a study of hospitals and emergency treatment cases in 10 states in the US, the booster shot vaccine was effective in preventing hospitalization by 90%. On the other hand, when more than 6 months have elapsed after two doses of inoculation, the effectiveness was only 57%.
In addition, booster shot was found to be 82% effective in preventing the use of emergency rooms or urgent care clinics. The protective effect was only 38% when more than 6 months had elapsed after the second inoculation.
In two other studies, booster shot did not completely prevent infection with Omicron, but it was confirmed that the prevention rate was significantly higher than that of two doses.
In particular, a study of 13,000 Americans infected with Omicron found that those who received the booster shot had a 66% lower risk of infection compared to those who received only two doses.
Accordingly, health experts are pointing out that two doses are not sufficient to prevent Omicron, and three doses such as booster shot need to be the standard for complete inoculation.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post (WP) pointed out that Omicron has already become the dominant species in the United States, and is showing a stagnant trend in some regions.
| Moderna and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. [사진=로이터 뉴스핌] |
kckim100@newspim.com
