The newest omicron boosters are 84% effective at keeping seniors 65 and older from being hospitalized with Covid-19 compared with the unvaccinated, based on a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.
And seniors who received the omicron booster had 73% more protection against hospitalization than those that only received two or more doses of the unique vaccines that weren’t updated to focus on omicron, based on the CDC.
The study was conducted from September through November when omicron BA.5 and the much more immune evasive BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 variants were dominant. About 800 seniors with a median age of 76 were included within the evaluation.
In a bigger study that checked out greater than 15,000 adults ages 18 and older, the omicron booster was 57% effective at stopping hospitalization. Adults who received the booster had 38% additional protection compared with individuals who only received the unique shots.
Neither study examined how well people were protected against hospitalization in the event that they were vaccinated and had natural immunity from a previous Covid infection.
A previous study from the CDC found that the boosters were lower than 50% effective at stopping mild illness across most age groups. But outstanding scientists and public health experts said the shots’ effectiveness against hospitalization would almost actually be higher.
U.S. health officials have repeatedly called on everyone who’s eligible to get an omicron booster ahead of the vacations. However the administration has focused specifically on ensuring more vulnerable populations, comparable to older adults, stay awake to this point on their Covid vaccines.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid task force leader, has said the general public dying from Covid straight away are seniors who usually are not up to this point on their shots or usually are not receiving treatment after they have breakthrough infections.
“There are still too many older Americans who haven’t gotten their immunity updated, who haven’t gotten themselves protected,” Jha told reporters on the White House on Thursday.
The Biden administration is launching a campaign to extend vaccinations in nursing homes, whose residents are a number of the most vulnerable to severe Covid. Lower than 50% of nursing home residents have received the updated booster.
Overall, only 35% of seniors have received an omicron booster, while 14% of individuals ages 5 and older have gotten the updated shot, based on CDC data.
