The study, published today in the British medical journal The Lancet, analyzed the results of additional dose injections in people who took two doses of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines, used in over 180 countries, and Pfizer / BioNtech, in over 145 countries. and it was concluded that these booster doses are “safe and enhance the immune response.”
However, they have not been found to be more effective in “protecting against infection or serious illness.”
“The side effect data demonstrates that the seven vaccines analyzed are safe for use as third doses, with acceptable levels of secondary inflammatory effects such as pain at the site of vaccination, muscle pain and fatigue. Astrazeneca, only AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNtech, Moderna, Novavax, Janssen and Curevac achieved the same result after two doses of Pfizer-BioNtech, ”said researcher Paul Faust from University Hospital in Southampton, UK.
As a starting point, it is recognized that the effectiveness of these vaccines diminishes over time.
The third doses were given to study participants 10–12 weeks after they received the second dose of vaccine.
The increase in antibody production against the protein that the SARS-CoV-2 virus uses to enter cells ranged from 1.8 to 32.3 for people who took two doses of AstraZeneca, and 1.3 to 11.5 times for people. vaccinated by Pfizer / BioNtech. with a “significant response” in the form of an increase in immune T cells in various combinations.
“It is important to note that the results only relate to the use of these vaccines as a booster for primary vaccination and the immune response achieved up to 28 days later. memory. We are also studying the effect of two vaccines on people who took the booster dose seven to eight months later, but the results will not be available until next year, “he added.
The study involved 2878 people aged 30 and over. More than 900 reports reported more than a thousand side effects in addition to the most common (fatigue, headache, and pain at the injection site), 24 of which were serious.
