Pfizer’s third dose 86% effective in over 60s, says Israeli HMO, as West plots booster jab rollout

The Maccabi Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) has stated that a third dose of Pfizer in people over the age of 60 was 86% effective at preventing Covid-19, making it considerably more effective than just two doses.

On Wednesday, Israeli HMO Maccabi said in a statement that it had compared data from 149,144 people aged over 60 who received their third dose at least seven days ago with 675,630 people who received only two shots between January and February. 

HMO Maccabi stated that only 37 people tested positive for Covid-19 after their booster shot, while there had been 1,064 infections in the two-shot group. The data led the scientists to deduce that the third jab greatly enhanced immunity. HMO Maccabi said three shots of Pfizer appear to be 86% effective at preventing Covid-19.

The Maccabi HMO claimed that the people were from similar demographic profiles in the data sets analyzed. They also did not provide any information concerning the severity of the infections experienced by the 37 people testing positive or whether they had underlying conditions. 

The US pharmaceuticals giant has said that its vaccine becomes less effective over time and that the emergence of new variants, such as Delta, has further impacted its efficacy.

Many Western nations, including the UK, US and France have announced plans for imminent booster jab campaigns, with the Pfizer jab expected to be widely used. US biotech firm Novavax is also racing to get its shot ready for the autumn boosters, as the vaccine has proven more than 90% effective against all prevalent strains of Covid-19 after two doses. 

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