Study: 72% fewer deaths of elderly Israelis with 4th COVID shot

An Israeli study conducted by Tel Aviv University, Ben Gurion University and the Health Ministry in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine shows that a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shots provided a 72% reduction in death rates among elderly Israelis. The study analyzed data on about 40,000 elderly people in nursing homes who received four shots, compared with those who had three shots. The fourth shot of the Pfizer vaccine administered in Israel cut the chance of hospitalization for the virus by over 60% and provided a 34% reduction in chances of infection, according to the study, which covered the outbreak of the coronavirus last winter, which was largely due to the omicron variant. The study looked at 24,088 residents of institutions supervised by the Ministry of Health’s Senior Shield program who received a fourth dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and 19,687 residents who were vaccinated with the first three doses four months or more prior to the follow-up, and decided not to receive the fourth vaccination.