Safety and Efficacy of a Third Dose of BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine.
Publication/Presentation Date
5-19-2022
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Active immunization with the BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) has been a critical mitigation tool against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. In light of reports of waning protection occurring 6 months after the primary two-dose vaccine series, data are needed on the safety and efficacy of offering a third (booster) dose in persons 16 years of age or older.
METHODS: In this ongoing, placebo-controlled, randomized, phase 3 trial, we assigned participants who had received two 30-μg doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine at least 6 months earlier to be injected with a third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine or with placebo. We assessed vaccine safety and efficacy against Covid-19 starting 7 days after the third dose.
RESULTS: A total of 5081 participants received a third BNT162b2 dose and 5044 received placebo. The median interval between dose 2 and dose 3 was 10.8 months in the vaccine group and 10.7 months in the placebo group; the median follow-up was 2.5 months. Local and systemic reactogenicity events from the third dose were generally of low grade. No new safety signals were identified, and no cases of myocarditis or pericarditis were reported. Among the participants without evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection who could be evaluated, Covid-19 with onset at least 7 days after dose 3 was observed in 6 participants in the vaccine group and in 123 participants in the placebo group, which corresponded to a relative vaccine efficacy of 95.3% (95% confidence interval, 89.5 to 98.3).
CONCLUSIONS: A third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine administered a median of 10.8 months after the second dose provided 95.3% efficacy against Covid-19 as compared with two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine during a median follow-up of 2.5 months. (Funded by BioNTech and Pfizer; C4591031 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04955626.).
Volume
386
Issue
20
First Page
1910
Last Page
1921
ISSN
1533-4406
Published In/Presented At
Moreira ED Jr, Kitchin N, Xu X, Dychter SS, Lockhart S, Gurtman A, Perez JL, Zerbini C, Dever ME, Jennings TW, Brandon DM, Cannon KD, Koren MJ, Denham DS, Berhe M, Fitz-Patrick D, Hammitt LL, Klein NP, Nell H, Keep G, Wang X, Koury K, Swanson KA, Cooper D, Lu C, Türeci Ö, Lagkadinou E, Tresnan DB, Dormitzer PR, Şahin U, Gruber WC, Jansen KU; C4591031 Clinical Trial Group. Safety and Efficacy of a Third Dose of BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2022 May 19;386(20):1910-1921. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2200674. Epub 2022 Mar 23. PMID: 35320659;
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
35320659
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article