Boosters increase protection against death from Omicron in over-50s to 95%, UK health agency says

COVID boosters increase protection against death from the Omicron variant to 95% in people aged 50 or over, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Thursday, Report informs, referring to The Guardian.

The UKHSA said that about six months after a second dose of any of the Covid vaccines, protection against death with Omicron was about 60% in those aged 50 and over. However, this increased to around 95% two weeks after receiving a booster vaccine dose.

UKHSA added that data continued to show high levels of protection against hospitalisation from the booster. Effectiveness against hospitalisation was 90% for the Pfizer/BioNTech shot, dropping to 75% 10-14 weeks after the booster.

For Moderna, effectiveness against hospitalisation was 90-95% up to 9 weeks after the booster.