A new study shows what the 4th coronavirus vaccination really does

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A visitor to a vaccination location receives a coronavirus vaccination. People who are at a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from coronavirus, including people over 60 and pregnant women, were able to get a coronavirus shot again. This also applies to healthcare workers with direct patient and/or client contact.
In addition to the record number of sick days, the viral load in wastewater continues to rise. A study now reveals how the vaccination jab counteracts this.

Sneezing on the bus, coughing on the streetcar, catching a cold at work—a record number of sick notes and wastewater analyses show an unprecedented viral load throughout Austria. Winter, and with it, the new COVID-19 wave, has hit Austria with full force.

Many people are now asking themselves how useful the Corona vaccination and, above all, another jab actually is. The answer is provided by Stefan Pilz, Head of the Outpatient Clinic for Endocrinology at the Medical University of Graz.

For this retrospective study, data from the AGES Epidemiological Reporting System (EMS) and the COVID-19 vaccination register were used and evaluated in the period from the end of 2022 to the first half of 2023. In total, data from almost four million people, all of whom had already been infected with SARS-CoV-2, was analyzed for the study.

The data was analyzed with regard to COVID-19 deaths as well as (new) infections with the virus and how the risk for people changes over time after vaccination. The central question: “How effective was the fourth vaccination for people who were already infected with SARS-CoV-2?”, summarizes Stefan Pilz.

It was found that the risk of infection with the Sars-Cov-2 virus was significantly lower, especially in the first three months after the fourth vaccination. However, this protection also decreased again within these three months, explain co-authors Alena Chalupka and Lukas Richter from AGES. The researchers also observed that the risk of COVID-19 infection was even slightly increased four to five months after the vaccination was administered.
There was no significant effect in terms of COVID-19 mortality, possibly because COVID-19 mortality was already generally at a very low level.

Nevertheless, according to Pilz’s team, the vaccination has made a major contribution to transitioning the pandemic into an endemic phase.

While the study has provided many answers, it has also raised a number of questions. These include how to interpret the data from unvaccinated people, who tend to be or have been tested less often, or which factors (vaccination, natural immunities, treatment options, mutations of the virus) have led to a reduction in mortality over time. These questions are now to be answered in the course of further studies and analyses.