Impact of COVID-19 Third Booster Vaccine Dose on Death Rate

A booster (third) dose of the COVID-19 vaccine was associated with a 90% reduction in death in people with multiple health conditions compared to 2 doses, according to a new study from Hong Kong published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

As the Omicron (BA.2) variant epidemic hit Hong Kong in late 2021, the city reported the highest COVID-19 mortality rate worldwide relative to its population of 7.5 million people. Since November 11, 2021, older people, healthcare professionals, and other priority groups were able to receive a booster dose of the vaccine. But there was no study highlighting the third booster dose.

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‘New study highlights the potential benefit of COVID-19 booster vaccination, specifically in vulnerable populations living with multimorbidity.’

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To know its effectiveness, researchers compared data on people aged 18 years or older with 2 or more chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease, who received a booster (third) dose between November 11, 2021, and March 31, 2022, compared to people who received only 2 doses.

The study included 120,724 recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (87,289 who received a booster) and 127,318 CoronaVac recipients (94,977 who received a booster). There were more deaths among CoronaVac recipients than Pfizer-BioNTech recipients.

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They found a substantially reduced risk of COVID-19–related death in adults with multimorbidity who received a homologous booster dose. These results support the effectiveness of booster doses of vaccines of 2 different technological platforms in lowering mortality among those with multimorbidity amid the Omicron epidemic.

These findings suggest that this timely, massive public health measure has plausibly played a pivotal role in lowering the mortality rate amid the epidemic, especially among people living with multimorbidity.

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It will also support the recent focus on older people and those with chronic conditions for future booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines beyond the first booster. The robust results will contribute to the evidence base that getting boosted provides strong protection against death from COVID-19.

As the data on COVID-19 vaccination records used for this study was provided by the sole operator of vaccine roll-out in Hong Kong, with a unified recording system, and with linked clinical records provided by a territory-wide public health care provider, this data should be highly reliable and representative.

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Source-Eurekalert

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