WASHINGTON, Feb 12, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The efficacy of third doses of the
Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines wanes substantially by the fourth month
after administration, a new study by the US Centers of Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) said Friday.

  Though it's now well documented that vaccine efficacy goes down after two
doses, relatively little has been published on the duration of protection
after a booster.

  The new study was based on more than 241,204 visits to the emergency
department or an urgent care clinic, and 93,408 hospitalizations, which are
more serious, among adults with Covid-19-like illness during August 26, 2021-
January 22, 2022.

  Vaccine efficacy was estimated by comparing the odds of a positive Covid
test between vaccinated and unvaccinated patients and using statistical
methods to control for calendar week, geographic area, while adjusting for
age, the level of local transmission, and patient characteristics like
comorbidities.

  During the Omicron-predominant period, vaccine efficacy against Covid-
associated emergency department or urgent care visits was 87 percent during
the two months after a third dose, but fell to 66 percent by the fourth
month.

  Vaccine efficacy against hospitalization was 91 percent in the first two
months, but fell to 78 percent by the fourth month after a third dose.

  "The finding that protection conferred by mRNA vaccines waned in the months
after receipt of a third vaccine dose reinforces the importance of further
consideration of additional doses to sustain or improve protection," the
authors concluded.

  Speaking at a White House Covid briefing on Wednesday, President Joe
Biden's top medical advisor Anthony Fauci said it was likely that fourth
doses would more likely be needed for subsets of people who mount weaker
immune responses, such as the elderly and immunocompromised.

  - New antibody authorized -

  In a separate development Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
authorized a new lab-grown antibody treatment by pharmaceutical company Lilly
called bebtelovimab.

  The drug is administered as an intravenous injection over at least 30
seconds and has been green lighted for the treatment of mild-to-moderate
Covid among people 12 and over at high risk of severe disease.

  Data supporting the authorization came from a clinical trial that showed
the drug has strong promise against Omicron. Lilly's previous antibody
treatment was de-authorized by the FDA after it was found to be ineffective
against this variant.