Biotech: Vaccine effectiveness down 6 percent every two months

Reuters/Fabrizio Benscho

The effectiveness of the Biotech/Pfizer vaccine drops by about six percent every two months. show that statisticsthat pharmaceutical companies have submitted to the US FDA, such as “financial Times” informed of.

Four months after the second dose, effectiveness is only around 83.7 percent – up from the original 96.2 percent.

On Friday, the FDA’s Immunization Board wants to provide advice on so-called booster vaccinations. A separate assessment letter indicates disagreement within the authority.

pharmaceutical companies biotech and Pfizer has announced that the effects of their coronavirusVaccination wear over time. As reported by “Financial Times” (FT)US FDA companies announced Wednesday a summary document Presented with a study by Kaiser Permanente Southern California that found a steady decrease in vaccine effectiveness after the second dose. The vaccine then loses about six percent of its effectiveness every two months.

From 96.2 percent effectiveness one week after full vaccination, the vaccine’s effectiveness drops to 90.1 percent two months later. After another two months, the effectiveness is only 83.7 percent. Reduction is a natural process and independent of variation – i.e. it cannot be attributed to any escape properties of the delta variant. Biontech also cited data from Israel, which also showed a decrease – and shows that a third booster vaccination would increase the protective effect back to 95 percent. In addition to Biontech, pharmaceutical company Moderna had announced that the effectiveness of its mRNA vaccine declined over time, according to “FT”.

The biotech/Pfizer presented new results just days before an important FDA vaccine committee meeting on Friday to discuss a proposal for a third booster vaccination. The question will be whether the authority should allow a third vaccination dose for a booster, the so-called booster. and if so, to which population group the recommendation should apply. According to the documents, Biotech/Pfizer has sought approval of the booster from six months after the second dose. The FDA had already granted booster approval for people with weakened immune systems. The European Medicines Agency EMA did the same last week Approval process for booster vaccination added.

Booster campaigns remain controversial

The US government, led by President Joe Biden, is planning to launch its booster program in the coming week. However, according to the “FT,” there is disagreement within the FDA about whether booster vaccinations are really necessary. Several other countries have already started booster vaccination. The German Conference of Health Ministers has also recommended booster vaccination for certain population groups, for example for people in nursing homes, people with immunodeficiency and the very old living at home.

Plans to expand booster campaigns to population groups without an increased risk of disease are also quite controversial outside of the FDA. It is not only the World Health Organization (WHO) that looks at them critically. Two scientists have recently resigned from the FDA. Because there is not enough evidence to justify a booster program given the supply of scarce vaccines globally, especially in poorer countries, the resigning researchers argue.