COVID-19 boosters increase protection against death from the Omicron variant to 95% in people aged 50 or over, the UK Health Security Agency said on Thursday.
The UKHSA said that around six months after a second dose of any of the COVID-19 vaccines, protection against death with Omicron was around 60% in those aged 50 and over. However, this increased to around 95% two weeks after receiving a booster vaccine dose.
UKHSA added that data continued to show high levels of protection against hospitalisation from the booster. Effectiveness against hospitalisation was around 90% for the Pfizer-BioNTech shotRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.
The UKHSA also issued an initial analysis of vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron sublineage called BA.2, which is growing in Britain and Denmark, finding a similar level of protection against symptomatic disease. "After two doses effectiveness was 9% and 13% respectively for BA.1 and BA.2, after 25+ weeks," the UKHSA said. "This increased to 63% for BA.1 and 70% for BA.2 from two weeks following a booster vaccine."Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Kate Holton/Guy FaulconbridgeSubscribe to our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
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