Third Covid shot gives four months of protection against Omicron: Study

Bloomberg: Three Covid-19 vaccinations offer protection against severe symptoms even after four months, according to a study from Denmark, one of the countries first hit by the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

More than 121 days after being administered, third doses of vaccine still offered as much as 77.3% protection against symptoms that require hospitalisation, the study found.

Denmark estimates that about 70% of its adult population contracted Omicron from November to March. The Nordic country ended all virus restrictions on February 1 because a high vaccination rate prevented omicron from overburdening its hospitals.

The study, published by Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut for infectious diseases, isn’t yet peer-reviewed. It also showed that the third dose offered as much as 90.2% protection against hospitalisation immediately after it was taken and that three shots reduces the risk of getting omicron by almost 50%.

Well over two-thirds of the shots administered in Denmark were from Pfizer Inc-BioNTech, with vaccinations from Moderna Inc mostly making up the remainder, according to the institute.

Exhaustive record keeping by the Danish healthcare system meant researchers were able to compare near-complete data on vaccinations, hospitalisations and pre-existing conditions with highly detailed Covid testing records.