Data from COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials show that more effective and broader SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies are produced after the third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
A third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine increases neutralizing antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Pfizer, BioNTech, and University of Texas Medical Branch scientists tracked the immune response of participants in clinical trials for the vaccine.
‘A third booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine increases the body’s ability to inhibit more variants efficiently.’
They found that neutralizing antibody levels, the key protective immunity, dropped significantly over seven to nine months after the two-dose vaccination.The neutralizing antibody levels correlated to the observation of breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals.
After a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the neutralizing antibody levels increased many-fold higher than that after the second dose.It also increased the antibody’s ability to inhibit variants more efficiently, including Beta and Delta variants.
The safety and antibody response of a booster dose administered seven to nine months after the regular two-dose series suggests that a third dose can prolong protection and increase the breadth of protection against new COVID-19 variants.
Source-Medindia