Protection against Covid-19 by BNT162b2 Booster across Age Groups

Abstract (PubMed)

After promising initial results from the administration of a third (booster) dose of the BNT162b2 messenger RNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) to persons 60 years of age or older, the booster campaign in Israel was gradually expanded to persons in younger age groups who had received a second dose at least 5 months earlier. We analyzed data from 4,696,865 adults aged 16 years or older in Israel during July-October 2021. Rates of confirmed infection were lower in the booster group than in the nonbooster group by a factor of approximately 10. Rates of severe illness were lower in the booster group by a factor of 17.9 among those 60 years of age or older and by a factor of 21.7 among those 40-59 years of age. The Israel Ministry of Health and Pfizer have a data-sharing agreement, but only the final results of this study were shared with Pfizer.