'The bottom line is that the vaccine is excellent against the Alpha and Delta, for Omicron it's not good enough.' 'Granted, a bit less than in the control group, but still a lot of infections. However, we see many infected with Omicron who received the fourth dose. 'We see an increase in antibodies, higher than after the third dose. 'Despite increased antibody levels, the fourth vaccine only offers a partial defense against the virus,' she told a press conference. NHS England did not confirm how many doses were affected or whether all doses of Pfizer's vaccine now have a 45-day shelf life.īut both the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Pfizer said the extension does not affect the 'safety, quality or efficacy' of the jabs. Officials said the move, which was approved by both Pfizer and the UK's drug safety watchdog, would allow more patients to be vaccinated over the coming days.
Previously, they were no longer usable after 31 days. The batches - which are transported and stored in ultra-cold freezers - can now be kept in fridges for 45 days after they are thawed. Health chiefs in the UK have extended the shelf life of Pfizer's Covid jabs over fears millions of injections would have to be binned.Ī slowdown in the booster drive prompted concerns that life-saving doses would end up being wasted.īut NHS bosses have now been given permission to push back the expiry date of 20 batches of Pfizer's vaccines by two weeks, it was revealed today. The World Health Organization has called on vaccine makers to make variant-proof jabs to avoid countries having to revaccinate every few months. The results came as a UK Government adviser today became the latest senior figure to warn against repeated mass vaccinations, recommending a targeted approach like for flu.Īnd last week, European Union regulators claimed boosting too frequently could actually weaken the immune system.
This is before any publication. But we're giving it out since we understand the urgency of the public to get any information possible about the fourth dose.' Researchers from the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, who ran the trial, said those who became infected had very mild symptoms or none at all.Īuthor Dr Gili Regev-Yochay told a press conference: 'These are very preliminary results. The findings were true for both Pfizer and Moderna, and will reignite the debate about whether constant boosting is necessary. The study of more than 270 medical staff in Israel found the fourth shot only raised antibodies 'a little' compared to those who were triple-vaccinated. Participants given four doses were only 'a bit less' likely to test positive for the mutant strain than those who had received three. Even a fourth dose of a Covid vaccine isn't enough to stop people getting infected with Omicron, according to the preliminary results of a trial.