New COVID-19 shock: Scientists reveal what vaccines are really capable of
As new COVID-19 variants continue to emerge, widespread concerns have grown. Many fear that vaccines might no longer offer strong protection.
In autumn 2024, updated mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were rolled out. They specifically targeted the then-dominant JN.1 variant.
But questions remained: would these vaccines still work against the new mutations like KP.3.1.1 and XEC?
Denmark’s largest study brings answers
Researchers from Statens Serum Institut have now conducted an extensive study. Nearly 900,000 people over the age of 65 were included.
The results are remarkable. Vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization reached 70.2 percent for Pfizer and 84.9 percent for Moderna.
Protection against death within 30 days of a positive test was 76.2 percent and 95.8 percent respectively.
Even against the newer variants, vaccine effectiveness remained high, with no significant decline during the first four months.
Vaccines surprise scientists positively
It turns out that the vaccines trigger a broad immune response that protects across different mutations.
“Although the new variants differ genetically to some extent from the original JN.1 variant targeted by the vaccines, we still observe strong protection against severe disease. This suggests that the vaccines induce a broad immune response that also covers newer mutations”, explains epidemiologist and biostatistician at SSI, Christian Holm Hansen, who led the study.
Although minor differences were found between the vaccines, much suggests that updated vaccinations remain crucial.
This is the first time the effect of JN.1-updated vaccines has been evaluated separately in such a large study.
The research emphasizes the need for ongoing updates in the fight against COVID-19 – especially for the elderly and vulnerable groups.
The article is based on information from Via Ritzau.