Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said that a new study has found that the fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose boosts antibodies five-fold.
“A week into the fourth dose we know to a higher degree of certainty that the fourth dose is safe,” Bennett said at Sheba Medical Center, which is giving second booster shots in a trial among its staff amid a nationwide surge in Omicron variant infections.
“A week after the administration of the fourth dose, we see a fivefold increase in the number of antibodies in the vaccinated person,” Bennett added.
“This most likely means a significant increase in the protection against infection and against severe hospitalisation and symptoms,” he said, noting the facility was due to publish its findings soon.
Israel has played a leading role in studying the effects of COVID-19 vaccines, as the fastest country to roll out two-dose inoculations to a wide population a year ago and one of the first to give third shots as boosters.
It is now administering fourth doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to people over 60, health workers and immunocompromised patients.
Also read | Israel announces fourth booster dose for over 60s and medics as Omicron rages
The moves come around one year after it began a massive vaccination drive on the back of a data-sharing accord with US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer.
The country’s health ministry on Tuesday reported over 10,000 new coronavirus cases for the previous day, compared to a daily average of less than 4,000 the previous week.
More than four million people from Israel’s population of 9.4 million have received three shots of the coronavirus vaccine.
(With inputs from agencies)
