Summarised by Centrist
New Zealand’s latest health data suggests a short-term boost in infection protection, but long-term effectiveness in preventing severe outcomes like hospitalisation and death.
Findings published in the New Zealand Medical Journal suggest that the COVID vaccine was highly effective in reducing hospitalisations—by 81% in the first month after a booster and 57% by month six.
While the vaccine’s ability to stop infection dropped from 57% to 10% over six months, its protection against death is said to remain strong, only slightly declining from 93% to 87% over the same period.
Co-authors Dr James Mbinta and Professor Colin Simpson note that while younger Kiwis are skipping their second boosters, older and at-risk groups have shown higher uptake, which they say is critical for ongoing protection.
