Antibodies decrease by more than 80% six months after second shot of Pfizer vaccine: US study

A US study has found that a decrease in Covid-19 antibodies produced by the Pfizer vaccine was found in senior nursing home residents six months after receiving their second dose.

The study was conducted on 120 nursing home residents and 92 health care workers by Case Western Reserve University and Brown University in the US, as reported by PTI.

The study which is yet to be published found that the individuals’ antibody levels decreased more than 80 per cent after six months.

According to the study, the results found were the same in seniors, with a median age of 76, and caregivers, with a median age of 48, and old alike.

During early research, it was also found that within two weeks of receiving the second shot of Pfizer vaccine, a reduced number of antibodies was witnessed in seniors who had not contracted Covid-19. However, the response in younger people was different.

The experts have said that booster shots would be required especially for the elderly. As Delta variant spreads, booster shots become more important in that scenario.

“With nursing home, residents’ poor initial vaccine response, the rise of breakthrough infections and outbreaks, characterisation of the durability of immunity to inform public health policy on the need for boosting is needed,” the authors of the study added.