Three Covid vax doses offer better protection from Omicron: Study

According to a recent study, the third Covid-19 vaccination dosage boosts the degree and duration of protection against the Omicron variant and hospitalisation compared to the first two vaccine doses.

According to the study, which was published in the journal PLOS Medicine, two vaccination doses give only minimal and short-term protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection with the variation.

“Our findings indicate that a third dose is necessary to maintain protection against infection for a longer time and to ensure a high level of protection against Covid-19 hospitalisation with the Omicron variant,” said researcher Mie Agermose Gram at Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.

“Continued emergence of new variants and waning vaccine durability requires ongoing evaluation of vaccine effectiveness against infection and hospitalisation to inform future vaccination strategies,” Gram added.

The introduction of new SARS-CoV-2 mutations may reduce vaccine durability in the long run, increasing the risk of infection and hospitalisation.

However, information on the vaccination efficacy of three vaccines over time is scarce.

The researchers used individual-level data to perform a countrywide cohort analysis of all previously uninfected Danish inhabitants aged 12 and older for this investigation.

After correcting for age, gender, geographic location, and comorbidities, the researchers evaluated vaccine efficacy using vaccination status as a time-varying exposure before comparing infection and hospitalisation rates to uninfected people.

The researchers discovered that a third vaccination dosage gave better protection against Omicron variant infection and hospitalisation than two doses, and that there was less indication of diminishing protection.

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