Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
WASHINGTON — The latest round of COVID-19 boosters is about 54% effective in preventing symptomatic infection in those with normal immune systems, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That's comparable to the effectiveness of the flu vaccine in a good year.
The analysis found the updated vaccine equally effective against the strain it targets, XBB.1.5, and the JN.1 subvariant, which is currently the most common strain in the United States.
Ruth Link-Gelles, an author of the study, said it "shows that the latest COVID shot offers significant protection to recipients," per STAT News.
"We know that COVID is continuing to cause thousands of hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths in this country each week," Link-Gelles, of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told STAT. "And 50% added protection against COVID-19 is really going to be a meaningful increase in protection, especially for those at highest risk."
The analysis included 9,222 people with symptoms that could have been COVID-19; nearly 3,300 tested positive for the virus. Effectiveness was calculated based on comparing those who were boosted versus those who weren't.
Experts say vaccine effectiveness is known to wane over time, but officials say that getting the vaccine is important even if cases are declining in a community.
The shot is recommended for anyone 6 months and older. But "only about 22% of U.S. adults have gotten the shots and only 11% of children. The slow uptake meant that it took longer for researchers to gather enough data to assess how well the shots work," Link-Gelles told the Associated Press.
