The newly formulated COVID-19 vaccines barely protect against severe illness, according to data reported on April 19.
The protection for adults from a shot of the new Moderna and Pfizer vaccines started above 50 percent but quickly dropped within months, the data show.
Among adults aged 18 to 65 without a condition making them immune compromised, a bivalent shot initially increased protection against hospitalization from 21 percent to 68 percent. However, that shielding plummeted to just 27 percent 60 to 119 days later, according to the data.
Among adults deemed immunocompetent and aged 65 or older, the protection started at 64 percent but dipped to just 39 percent 120 to 179 days later, scientists with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported….