On May 14, 2021, a 12-year-old child who was vaccinated with Pfizer’s COVID-19 at a Los Angeles County Clinic had a band-aid on his arm.
Patrick Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
According to a preliminary survey conducted in Israel, most people who received the third dose of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine experienced side effects similar to or less than after the second dose.
Israel began providing booster injections to people over 60 years old about 10 days ago as part of efforts to slow the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. This effectively turned Israel into a testing ground for the third dose before the US Food and Drug Administration approved it.
Clalit, Israel’s largest healthcare provider, said on Sunday that it had given a third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to more than 240,000 people.
Approximately 4,500 people answered the questions and participated in the survey. They all received the booster injection between July 30 and August 1.
88% of survey participants said that within a few days after receiving the third injection, their feeling was “similar or better” to the feeling after the second injection.
31% of people reported some side effects, the most common being soreness at the injection site.
Approximately 0.4% said they had difficulty breathing, and 1% said they sought medical treatment because of one or more side effects.
Ran Balicer, Clalit’s chief innovation officer, stated that although the results are “preliminary and self-reported,” they allow for side effects to be compared with a second dose, and “it turns out that in most cases they are in the booster .”
“Although we have not conducted long-term studies on the effectiveness and safety of the third booster dose, for the personal risk management of anyone over the age of 60, these findings now continue to show the benefits of immunization and prudent behavior to avoid confined spaces Gather,” Ballise said.
