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Preliminary data from an ongoing study shows that the third dose produces 5 to 10 times higher antibody levels against the primary coronavirus strain and the beta strain, which are mainly found in South Africa, compared to the two doses, they said. the companies in a statement.
“The companies hope to release the final data soon and intend to submit it to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EEA) and other regulators in the coming weeks,” the report said. .
Furthermore, companies predict that the third dose of the vaccine will work just as well and suppress the highly contagious strain of delta that is becoming widespread around the world.
As a precaution, companies are also developing a specific delta-adapted vaccine, the first batch of which was produced at BioNTech’s plant in Germany.
The companies hope that, with the permission of regulators, clinical trials of the vaccine can begin in August.
It is also emphasized that based on Israeli data on the reduced efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech after six months, a third dose may be necessary after 6 to 12 months.
“While protection against a severe form of the disease is reliable, reduced efficacy of symptomatic disease and further development of the strains can be expected,” the companies said in a statement.
At the time, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a statement Thursday night pushing the brakes on the third vaccine. The CDC encourages primary vaccination with primary doses.
“Fully vaccinated Americans do not need a maintenance dose at this time,” the report said.
People are likely to need a third dose of COVID-19 6 to 12 months after the initial vaccination, a Pfizer executive said in April.
The CEO of the company, Albert Bourla, also assured that people may need to get vaccinated against COVID-19 every year.
“We need to watch the course of the (pandemic) and see how often we will have to get vaccinated,” he said. filmed in an interview with CNBC television, Bourla said.
“The likely scenario is that we will probably need a third dose sometime between 6 and 12 months after vaccination, and then there may be an annual boost, but all of this has yet to be confirmed. It is particularly important to reduce the number of people who may be vulnerable to the virus, “Bourla said, emphasizing that the coronavirus strain would play a crucial role here.
Israeli expert: vaccine may have less protection against delta strain of coronavirus
The growing number of new COVID-19 cases in Israel, where the majority of the population has been vaccinated with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, sends a “preliminary signal” that the drug may be less effective in protecting against the delta strain of the virus. virus, but those infected get sick, an expert said Monday.
Ran Balicer, head of Israel’s national think tank on COVID-19, emphasized that “it is too early to accurately assess the effectiveness of the vaccine against this strain,” which was first identified in India in April and is now being spreading all over the world.
This is due in part to the low number of infections among vaccinated Israelis. Furthermore, the conditions of exposure to the virus and the likelihood of testing are not the same throughout the population, further complicating efforts to draw conclusions from the available data.
Balicer, who is also head of innovation at Israel’s largest healthcare provider Clalit, told AFP that the delta strain and its dominance in the country saw a “big change in the dynamics of the infection.”
The vaccination, which began in Israel in December, was one of the fastest in the world, so the situation in the Jewish state is being closely monitored to answer the question of whether mass vaccination will end the pandemic.
Vaccinating the population has reduced the number of new infections in Israel to five per day, but in recent days, following the spread of the delta strain, it has risen to about 300.
About half of all new cases are reported in children and the other half in adults who have already received the vaccine.
“To some extent, this could be expected, at 85 percent. Israeli adults are vaccinated,” Balicer said.
“However, the rapid growth in the number of new cases leads some to believe that it is [augimas] the vaccine is likely to be less effective, even if it is mild rather than severe, ”he said.
The number of severe COVID-19 cases among vaccinated Israelis has risen from one to five cases per day in recent days, Balicer said.
According to him, it is too early to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the vaccine to protect against serious diseases caused by the delta strain.
However, Balicer added that experts “continue to hope that the effectiveness of the vaccine against serious diseases will remain as high as the alpha strain first introduced in the UK in December.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned Sunday before a weekly cabinet meeting that “in the wake of the delta variety,” Israel may have to re-lift certain restrictions that were lifted last month.
According to Balicer, Israel is unlikely to control the increase in the number of infections without imposing additional restrictions. However, he expressed hope that the restrictions would be soft and that the “vaccine wall” of vaccinated Israelis would help prevent further spread of the infection.
“It is gratifying that we have had no deaths in the last twelve days,” he added.
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