Pfizer on Wednesday released new data suggesting that the third dose of its vaccine can “strongly” add to the shield against the Delta variant — exceeding the protection given by a couple of shots.
In data made available online, it was suggested that antibody levels that can focus on the Delta variant can increase by five times in 18-55-year-old individuals who got vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
The data suggested that antibody levels in people aged 65 to 85 should shield against the Delta variant 11 times more than following a second dose.
Twenty-three people have been involved in the test to generate that still unpublished data.
It remains uncertain if increased antibody levels are really linked to more protection or additional protection is still needed. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the present vaccines are giving the people the protection they need against all of the usual variants.
Dr. Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer’s worldwide research and development leader, in a company call on Wednesday, said that the vaccine’s third dose data is “encouraging.”
“Receiving a third dose more than six months after vaccination, when protection may be beginning to wane, was estimated to potentially boost the neutralizing antibody titers in participants in this study to up to 100 times higher post-dose three compared to pre-dose three,” Dolsten noted. “These preliminary data are very encouraging as Delta continues to spread.”
Furthermore, the data showed that after the third dose, there are much higher antibody levels to fight against the original coronavirus variant and the Beta variant, as reported by CNN.
In a separate release on Wednesday, the pharmaceutical giant posted its new safety and efficacy data, showing protection that can last at least six months but can drop in protection over the said period.
