Rambam serotyped antibody to COVID after 6 months

About 1,500 Rambam employees, as well as retirees who volunteered to participate in the study, underwent serological tests at the hospital with the support of the Ministry of Health.

The results of the test, conducted about six months after these individuals received their second dose of the vaccine, will be analyzed to help guide state policy.

Pfizer said over the weekend that it plans to file for emergency approval from the United States for a booster dose of its COVID-19 vaccine in August, based on early data from Israel that immunity wanes after six months and its own data. Increasing the dose can protect against the powerful virus.

Sheba Medical Center was the first in the world to offer the third injection on Monday afternoon, an injection for heart transplant patients. According to Professor Yael Bild-Potachnik, a cardiologist in Sheba, a study conducted at the hospital showed that less than 80% of heart transplant patients develop antibodies and less than 50% of them reject antibodies, which means that they can defend a person’s cells against the virus. .

A heart transplant patient receives a booster dose of Pfizer at Sheba Medical Center. (Photo source: Sheba Medical Center)

“It’s a very exciting moment,” Peled Potashnik said. “Timing is very important to our patients and we hope it will give them a chance to get back to their normal lives.”

In recent weeks, Israel has seen an increase in virus cases due to the delta type. Several seriously ill elderly people have already been vaccinated, including a couple in their mid-80s who died of COVID-19 last week while receiving treatment at Rambam. The hospital said they had underlying medical conditions.

“It is very important now [to give the booster] “Since we now have an emerging delta variant and reduced immunity, it is really urgent to do so now,” said Professor Galia Rahav, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Sheba. “I hope that within two days we will be able to vaccinate each one of us [immunocompromised] Rambam has been conducting a serological survey in the country since the start of the vaccination campaign. The first survey was conducted in January, about a month after the workers were vaccinated, and the second in April, three months later.

Deputy Director of Rambam Dr. Yael Shashur Miohs in the three-month exam. “During this period, we have noticed a decrease, but this is normal.”

However, she added, “Workers over the age of 60 had a lower level of antibody to the virus in their bodies compared to the other people in the study. It is important to note that until recently no COVID-19 infections were observed among employees.”