The new Covid-19 vaccine offers adults a 54% higher level of protection against the virus, according to a new study released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
of DataThe vaccine, which was approved in September and published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, protects against a strain of the virus first developed to target and more recently the strains and mutations of Covid that are spreading nationally.
Dr. Bruce Hirsch, an infectious disease specialist at Northwell Health, said the CDC’s findings are encouraging and should encourage more New Yorkers to embrace the latest stimulus. So far, fewer than 10% of Long Islanders have received the shot, the data show.
But Hirsch acknowledged that the study had limitations, including a lack of data on how effective the booster was at preventing severe cases of Covid-19, including hospitalizations and deaths.
“The demonstration of its effectiveness … is very reassuring and leads us to believe that it is very effective in preventing the worst consequences of COVID,” he said.
The nationwide study looked at more than 9,200 people with COVID-like symptoms who were tested for the virus at CVS pharmacies or Walgreens locations between Sept. 21 and Jan. 14. About 3,300 of those patients were infected, the researchers found.
Among those who received a booster seven to 59 days earlier, data showed that the vaccine was 58% effective in preventing symptomatic infection. Meanwhile, the booster was 49% effective among those who received the shot 60 to 119 days early, the report found.
“A reduction in efficacy is expected after vaccination, particularly in the short period of illness,” the report said. “CDC will continue to monitor trends in [vaccine effectiveness]He said.
While most early studies measured the vaccine’s effectiveness in hospitalizations and serious illness — the CDC said future reports will examine these results — the latest findings are in line with, or better than, previous studies showing effectiveness against covid infections.
The booster’s effectiveness also exceeds the annual effectiveness rate of the flu vaccine by nearly 50%, health officials said.
This is the third updated vaccine approved by the FDA since the first vaccine series.
The FDA approved the latest vaccine for anyone 6 months of age or older on September 12, but the percentage of Americans who have received the latest vaccine is lagging.
At the national level, Americans only 17% While in New York state, the figure was 11.6 percent lower, he said. State Health Department information.
Long Island, on the other hand, is in the bottom 20% of 62 counties in receiving the stimulus.
In Nassau County, 9.3% of residents received the incentive, compared to 8.6% in Suffolk County, health department data show.
Dr. Andrew Handel, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, said a combination of factors led to the decline.
“People are generally less enthusiastic about vaccination,” Handel said, adding that the focus should be on vaccinating high-risk individuals, especially those whose immunity is waning from previous doses. “And the current strain of the virus is becoming less and less likely to cause severe disease over time.”
Both the state and Long Island have the highest rate of Covid positives. It is hanging Health Department data show that in recent weeks, after reaching a seasonal high in early January.