The effectiveness of BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine against infection with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants BA.4/5 TheLancetInfDis COVID19 coronavirus covid vaccine vaccination Omicron infection
By Pooja Toshniwal PahariaOct 27 2022Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc. In a recent study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers evaluated the vaccine effectiveness of Pfizer-BioNTech’s BNT162b2 coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron BA.4/5.
About the study In the present test-negative study, researchers determined BNT162b2 VE against Omicron BA.4/5. Results Of 24,536 healthcare encounters, 38% , 20% , 31% , and 16% OP, UC, ED, and hospital encounters, respectively were found to be SARS-CoV-2-positive. A median value of 44 was observed for participant age, and most of the participants were females. VE estimates against Omicron BA.4/5 post-double doses were ≤50%, irrespective of the outcomes and days elapsed since the most recent vaccine dose.
For two-dose vaccinations, VE estimates at <0.5 years since D2 for hospital, ED, UC, and OP encounters were not calculated , 30, 50, and 30, respectively. The corresponding estimates at ≥0.5 years since D2 were -4.0, 44, 7.0, and 19, respectively, with overall VE estimates for double vaccinations of -4.0, 44, 11, and 21, respectively.