COVID-19 booster vaccine recipients were better protected during Qatar's Omicron wave

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-03-10 09:00

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The COVID-19 booster vaccines significantly reduce your chances of getting symptomatic Omicron compared to the first two doses, according to research out of Qatar. During the country's Omicron wave in late 2021 and early 2022, researchers matched booster recipients with a double-vaccinated person of a similar demographic and tracked COVID-19 infections across the same time period. 2.4 per cent of booster recipients who originally had Pfizer had a symptomatic Omicron infection, compared to 4.5 per cent among double vaccinated people. Among those who originally had Moderna, 1 per cent of booster recipients had a symptomatic Omicron infection compared to 1.9 per cent of double vaccinated people. The researchers say while the booster is less effective against Omicron than Delta, it still significantly improves on the protection of two vaccine doses.