Israeli Study Finds That 2nd Booster Efficacy Wanes As Fast As 10 Weeks.

According to a new study, the increased protection from a second booster shot of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine against viral infection swiftly faded. Following the introduction of the Omicron version of SARS-CoV-2, also known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, people receiving three doses have seen their protection against infection decline significantly. In January, Israeli regulators approved a fourth dose, or second booster, of Pfizer’s vaccine. While protection against infection increased after the fourth dose, peaking at 64 percent in the third week, it quickly fell after that, falling to 29 percent by the tenth week, according to Israeli researchers. “It indicates that the fourth dose’s potency wanes sooner, corresponding to the fact that the third dose wants sooner than the second dose,” they said in the preprint report. On March 15, Pfizer and BioNTech petitioned US authorities to approve…

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Italy Recommending Fourth COVID-19 Vaccine Dose for Immunocompromised

Italy’s health ministry has suggested that persons with a severely impaired immune system have a fourth mRNA vaccination shot against COVID-19, provided that at least 120 days have passed after their previous booster, it said on Sunday. The special commissioner appointed by the government for the COVID-19 emergency will select the date for the recommendation to come into force based on the demands of the vaccine campaign, the ministry said. The decision is based on the virus’s continued high circulation and the effectiveness of booster doses in reducing COVID-related deaths and, more broadly, symptoms that would necessitate hospitalization, according to the ministry. Since the outbreak in February 2020, Italy has recorded 152,848 deaths due to COVID-19, the second worst toll in Europe behind the United Kingdom and the eighth highest in the world. To date, the country has registered 12.4…

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New York Gov. wants to redefine “fully vaccinated” to include booster shots.

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York said the state may update the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include a booster dosage at some point in the near future. Hochul, whose broad mask requirement for New York corporations just went into effect, was asked what’s next on her wish list during a press conference on Dec. 16. She said that her agency would ask businesses to only allow customers inside who have been fully vaccinated. “I have said all along I have two missions. One is to protect the health of the people of New York. The second is to protect the health of the economy. Right now we can do both, to the extent that businesses follow what we ask them, only allowing people who are vaccinated,” Hochul said. “At some point we may have to determine that ‘fully vaccinated’ means boosted as…

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