Fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose lifts antibodies five-fold, Israel says
It is now administering fourth doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to people over 60 years, health workers and immunocompromised patients
Jerusalem — A fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine boosts antibodies five-fold a week after the shot is administered, Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said on Tuesday, citing preliminary findings of an Israeli study.
"A week into the fourth dose we know to a higher degree of certainty that the fourth dose is safe," Bennett said at Sheba Medical Center, which is giving second booster shots in a trial among its staff amid a nationwide surge in Omicron variant infections.
"The second piece of news: we know that a week after administration of a fourth dose, we see a five-fold increase in the number of antibodies in the vaccinated person," he told reporters.
"This most likely means a significant increase against infection and … hospitalisation and [severe] symptoms," Bennett said in English.
Israel has played a leading role in studying the effects of Covid-19 vaccines, as the fastest country to roll out two-dose inoculations to a wide population a year ago and one of the first to give third shots as boosters. It is now administering fourth doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to people over 60 years, health workers and immunocompromised patients.
Reuters