A new study has shown that COVID-19 booster vaccines significantly reduce the risk of death for fully vaccinated individuals.
Clalit Health Services of Tel Aviv (Israel) conducted research that found that fully-vaccinated people receiving booster shots can reduce their death risk by nearly 90 percent.
While the Delta type was predominant in the country at the time, the study was done between August-September, before Omicron’s discovery.
Even though fully-vaccinated individuals are not at very high risk of contracting Covid, their death rate is less than 0.02 per cent. The study also shows that the booster could be extremely beneficial for anyone who has a medical condition or an age.
Research has shown that a booster shot (blueline) can reduce by 90% the death risk of fully-vaccinated people (redline). Researchers also discovered that people who are not fully vaccinated can be at greater risk for death if they have diabetes, pulmonary diseases, and kidney disease.
Israel’s vaccine needs have been high. 40% of its citizens have received booster shots. Pictured: On January 20, a woman from Netanya in Israel received a COVID-19 vaccination shot.
This study was published in Wednesday’s New England Journal of Medicine. It gathered data about nearly 850,000 Israelis.
Israelis have had a greater demand for Covid vaccinations than many people from other countries. The Middle Eastern country quickly outpaced the rest of world when it came to rolling out the vaccines.
Many people were quick to accept boosters that became available over the past months.
Official data shows that 63 percent are fully vaccinated and 45 percent have received their booster shots.
750,000 participants received their booster within the study. 83,000 of them were already fully vaccinated and had yet to receive the extra shot.
For 54 days, researchers kept in touch with patients after the beginning of the study period.
It was only 10% more likely that Covid-infected people had their booster shots than those not fully vaccinated.
They also discovered that nearly 84,000 of their participants had succumbed to Covid during the course of the study.
65 people who received boosters died within the 54-day period.
The data was adjusted for age, comorbidities and other variables. Researchers found that those who received the extra shot had only 10% more chance of contracting the disease than fully-vaccinated counterparts.
Researchers also considered other factors and calculated the risk of death for each factor.
These researchers found that there wasn’t a significant increase in death risks among different racial group despite their drastically different lifestyles.
‘The main population sectors in Israel — the general Jewish population, Arab population, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish population — have different health-related behavioral patterns. Researchers wrote that although the subpopulations were included in our analysis, the adjustments did not have a significant impact on the study’s outcomes.
‘This observation may be explained by the fact that all participants included in our study had chosen to receive the first two doses early in the vaccination campaign, and therefore, it is possible that they had similar health care–seeking behavior.’
The researchers found that Covid was more common in males than it was for women during this period. However, they did not provide any explanation.
Lung cancer patients were most at risk with a 220 per cent increase in death rate. Chronic kidney cancer sufferers were next with a 127percent increased risk.
Others conditions such as diabetes (29% increased death risk), chronic obstructive lung disease (31%), and chronic heart failure (41%) all increase the risk of dying, regardless of whether or not they have received boosters.
Smokers are more at risk than smokers by a 17% increase in death rates.
Although the Omicron variant was not yet known, the results of this study support the case that additional shots are necessary.
Pfizer, manufacturer of the most commonly used Covid vaccine in America, announced Wednesday that it had data showing its shot was less effective at preventing infection from Omicron, but receiving a booster would increase variant-fighting antibodies 25-fold.
Nearly 50 Million Americans have had their booster shots. About half of those received the Pfizer jab.