Another booster shot’s safety and efficacy will be assessed in a study of 150 healthcare professionals whose antibodies from the third dose are diminishing.
Today, Sheba Medical Center initiated the world’s first clinical trial of a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Sheba, Israel’s and the Middle East’s largest medical institution, recruited 150 personnel for the study. Each patient had a third “booster” dose in August but now has an antibody level of less than 700, a hospital spokesperson said.
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The study, which was led by Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay of Sheba’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit, was approved by the Health Ministry’s Helsinki Committee for human medical trials.
Although the US Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved a fourth Pfizer injection, Israel’s Pandemic Expert Committee wants to deliver it to medical staff and senior persons over the age of 60, as protection appears to fade off after six months.
Regev Yochay stated that her objective is to see whether the fourth dose is effective at stimulating antibody production and is well tolerated.
“It is anticipated that this study will give information on the added advantage of administering a fourth dose. We will [attempt to determine] if and to whom a fourth dose is warranted,” she stated. “Within a few days, we will have safety statistics.”
The findings will inform Israel’s and the rest of the world’s policies, as the Omicron variant is triggering a new wave of infections. Numerous scientists feel that the vaccine’s current composition is useless against Omicron.
Dr. Jacob Lavee, a heart transplant surgeon, was the first to receive the treatment, describing it as “one small jab in the shoulder but one big leap for mankind in the global struggle against the Covid infection.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated, “Israel continues to lead the global effort to combat the pandemic.” Israel’s citizens were the first in the world to get the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccination, and we are now pioneering the fourth dose.”
