Israeli research published on Wednesday night showed that a fourth Pfizer vaccine dose protects those 60 and up by around three times the protection from a third dose, according to the Health Ministry.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
The new study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, examined more than one million people over the age of 60 who were eligible to receive the fourth dose from January 10 and March 2.
Severe morbidity dropped by a factor of three after the additional dose, with the protection not declining during the peer-reviewed study.
Verified cases in those who received fourth doses were also half that of third doses, although the protection against infection decreased over the time of the study.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Health Ministry, the Technion, the Hebrew University and the Gartner Institute at Sheba Medical Center.
The paper comes as Israel's R-value, or the rate of reinfection per individual with Covid-19, is below one for the first time in almost a month. While cases remain high, there has not been a significant rise in serious cases.
The World Health Organization warns the pandemic is far from over, citing a rise in cases worldwide while urging vaccination to overcome the pandemic.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
