Samuel Case, FISM News
After becoming the first country to approve a 4th dose of COVID vaccine, researchers at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel have discovered that two boosters is still “not good enough” to fully protect against Omicron.
“We see an increase in antibodies, higher than after the third dose,” Professor Gili Regev-Yochay explained, “However, we see many infected with Omicron who received the fourth dose. Granted, a bit less than in the control group, but still a lot of infections.”
“The bottom line is that the vaccine is excellent against the Alpha and Delta, for Omicron it’s not good enough,” Regev-Yochay said.
Even after making this discovery, Sheba Medical released a statement encouraging a continued “vaccination drive for risk groups at this time, even though the vaccine doesn’t provide optimal protection against getting infected with the variant.”
The Times of Israel reports that Sheba Medical was pressured into making this statement following a negative reaction from the Iraeli Health Ministry. As of this week over 500,000 Israelis have received the 4th dose, which is currently available for those over the age of 60, the immunocompromised, and medical staff.
Israel approved the 4th dose in late December in anticipation of a spike in Omicron infections.