A study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic, which examined 51,000 of its employees between September and December of this year, has raised concerns about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
The study focused on a “bivalent” vaccine that was designed to protect against both the original COVID-19 strain and its Omicron variant. The researchers wanted to determine how effective additional vaccine doses were in preventing infection. The study has not yet undergone peer review.
The survey found that individuals who had received more vaccine doses were at a higher risk of getting COVID-19. The study also found that bivalent vaccines were only 30% effective in preventing infections caused by various strains of the Omicron variant of the virus.
Cleveland Clinic Study
According to the study, it was unexpected to find that there is an association between higher numbers of previous vaccine doses and increased risk of COVID-19. It is possible that people who received more doses were individuals who were already at a higher risk of getting COVID-19, but this only applies to a small proportion of individuals. The majority of participants in the study were generally young people who were eligible to receive at least 3 doses of the vaccine by the start of the study and they had the opportunity to do so.
Hence, individuals who received less than three doses (which accounted for over 45% of the study population) were not disqualified from receiving the vaccine. Instead, they opted not to adhere to the CDC's advice on receiving timely COVID-19 vaccinations. It is reasonable to assume that such individuals may have engaged in riskier behavior. Surprisingly, the risk of contracting COVID-19 was actually lower in this group compared to those who had received more vaccine doses in the past.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the different vaccines may not necessarily prevent a person from getting the disease, but they can decrease the intensity of the symptoms.
