Moderna on Wednesday said people who got their Covid vaccine early on are twice as likely to get a breakthrough infection.
New data suggest people who got the Moderna jab between July 2020 and December 2020 are nearly twice as likely to get Covid than people who took the jab between December 2020 and March 2021.
Moderna is using this new data obtained during clinical trials to push booster shots on fully vaccinated people.
Beginning September 20, Americans who received two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines will be eligible for a booster shot eight months after their last dose.
The Daily Mail reported:
Moderna Inc says people who received its COVID-19 vaccine last year are nearly twice as likely to get a breakthrough infection compared to those recently vaccinated.
Breakthrough cases occur when people contract the disease 14 days or more after receiving their final dose of the shot.
New data published on Wednesday found 88 breakthrough cases of COVID-19 among Americans vaccinated from December 2020 to March 2021.
Comparatively, there were 162 cases – 1.8 times as many – among those vaccinated between July 2020 and December 2020.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company also reported 13 severe cases among the early vaccination group compared to six in the later group.
What’s more, there were three Covid hospitalizations and two deaths in the group vaccinated last year compared to no hospitalizations or deaths in the group vaccinated in winter 2020 and spring 2021.
Moderna says the data provide evidence for giving booster doses to fully vaccinated people.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky last month said that people who received the Covid vaccine early on are at an increased risk for severe disease.
“We are seeing concerning evidence of waning vaccine effectiveness over time and against the Delta variant,” Walensky said.
Walensky continued, “Reports from our international colleagues, including Israel, suggest increased risk of SEVERE disease amongst those VACCINATED EARLY.”
Walensky said the only way out is to get the Covid booster.