Pfizer Third Jab Found Effective For People Over 60-Years-Olds, Israeli HMO Claims

The Delta variant is a cause for concern right now with most of the world trying to figure out new methods to control it. Despite people getting jabbed twice, some have been left infected with the new COVID-19 variant.

Some are now leaning on a third jab to address the issue and Pfizer is one of them Israel has experienced a surge in COVID-19 cases and the country started to administer the third jab last month to control local infections.

It appears the third dose of the Pfizer vaccine is 86% effective, particularly on people over 60-years-old. An Israeli healthcare provider pointed out results from a study where thousands of members took part in.

According to Israel HMO Maccabi, results from 149,144 people aged over 60 who got the third dose about a week ago were compared with those from 675,630 more who had received only two doses, between January and February.

37 people reportedly tested positive after their third jab compared with 1,064 positive cases among those who had received only two doses. Maccabi did not get into detail on the severity of the 37 cases and if these people had underlying conditions.

Most have probably heard that Pfizer's efficacy drops over time. Hence, a third dose hopes to address that and neutralize antibodies against the initial SARS-CoV-2 virus as well as against the Beta and highly infectious Delta variants.

Some 1.1 million eligible Israelis - people over 50, healthcare workers, and others - have received their third dose.

While that should be a good development in Israel, the problem they face right now is that there are still a lot of people unvaccinated. Cases may continue to mount unless they can give another 1.1 million locals jabs.

The third dose efficiency should be a sigh of relief, not only for Israel but other countries as well. The United States and Europe are expected to offer boosters for the elderly and people with weak immune systems. It remains to be seen if the third dose will be offered more widely.

As far as Dr. Anat Ekka Zohar of Maccabi, the third dose is something that could resolve the growing problems raised by the COVID-19 Delta variant.

"The triple dose is the solution to curbing the current infection outbreak," she stated.