According to a short-term study in Israel, a third dose of Pfizer’s Coronavirus vaccine could significantly reduce infection rates among people 60 and older, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 16.
Data released Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 12 days after the third dose of the vaccine, the rate of Coronavirus infections dropped to one in 11 compared to people who received only two shots, and the rate of severe illness dropped to nearly one in two.
Israel’s findings could be carefully discussed at an expert meeting Friday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider Pfizer’s request for a third dose of the drug.
However, the New York Times reported that the medical journal The Lancet published an opinion note Monday in which top academics, including two departing FDA officials, concluded that most people now do not need an additional dose of the vaccine.
The paper notes that the short-term benefits observed by Israel do not imply long-term benefits. In addition, they say, scientists have analyzed dozens of studies and concluded that protecting billions of people around the world who are still unvaccinated with vaccines would be better for the world.
