Real-world data shows boosters work against Omicron, offering 'remarkable' protection against hospitalization for at least 3 months

Real-world data from the US and UK suggest that boosters offer strong protection against Omicron hospitalizations.

The official data shows that only half of Americans have had a booster for the vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that unvaccinated Americans 55 and older were more likely to be admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 than those who had booster shots in December. The data comes from hospitals in 14 states.

Three doses of Pfizer's shot were found to be effective against hospitalization and held for at least three months.

The study authors said the protection against Omicron hospitalization from two doses was more than 70% after six weeks. There were 8,694 hospital admissions to Kaiser Permanente between December 1, 2021, and January 11, according to the findings.

Two doses of Pfizer vaccine were no longer enough according to the study authors. "Achieving high levels of booster coverage is an urgent global public health priority", they said.
The study is funded by Pfizer and has not yet been published or scrutinized by other experts.

The UK Health and Security Agency said in a report that from two weeks after a booster, the protection from existing vaccines against hospitalization with Omicron waned slightly to 83%. The UKHSA said that the second dose of protection against Omicron hospitalization was 64% after two to 25 weeks.

There was no difference between people who got fourth and third doses.
The director of the research institute who wasn't involved in the studies said on Thursday that the findings were "remarkable 90% and durable protection (> 3 months) with booster vs Omicron vs hospital admission."

The data from the US and UK show the power of vaccines to stop people from getting sick when health systems are stretched. People in the US have been told to get vaccinations.

Most people won't need extra fourth doses for Omicron, as existing vaccines are still working against the variant.

It's not yet known if the protection will last beyond three months.