Preliminary Ontario data shows lasting COVID-19 vaccine efficacy
CTV
Just days after new studies showed a possible waning in the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, new preliminary data from Ontario offers a beacon of hope.
"This is very reassuring, not just because what we’re seeing overall is reassuring, but this is local data and it’s something that applies directly to us here in the province of Ontario," said Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease physician in Mississauga.
Earlier this month data published in the Lancet medical journal suggested the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine dropped significantly six months after the second dose, but new data from Ontario seems to counter that assumption.
"There certainly is waning, it’s got to be acknowledged, we can’t sweep this under the rug, but it’s probably being overstated and overestimated in those studies," said infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch.
"It’s nothing that can be brushed aside, we have to acknowledge it, but we also have to acknowledge that other metrics like hospitalizations and deaths have very high effectiveness," he added.