UK Study Shows Promising Data for Fourth COVID-19 Vaccine Shot

Participants in a small UK study who received a fourth dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Comirnaty, or the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, showed a strong immune response.

In the 166-participant study, which was funded by the UK’s Vaccine Task Force and National Institute for Health Research, both messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines demonstrated significant increases in antispike protein immunoglobulin G after 14 days. The fourth doses produced peak responses that compared with third doses and were well-tolerated, the researchers said.

The median age of the participants was 70.1 years. The UK currently permits people over age 75 and people who are immunosuppressed to get the fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot.