In a Letter to the Editor published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) on July 20, epidemiologist Dr. Tracy Høeg, physician-scientist Dr. Vinay Prasad, and Dr. Ram Duriseti from Stanford School of Medicine stated that a 2021 Israeli study on Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster may have overestimated the vaccine’s effectiveness by concluding those who received a booster had 90 percent lower mortality due to COVID-19 than non-boosted participants.
The group analyzed deaths attributed to COVID-19 in both the 2021 study and in a later statement by the same study authors to estimate mortality not associated with the virus based on a person’s vaccination status. The mortality unrelated to COVID-19 in the boosted group was compared to mortality unrelated to COVID-19 in the non-boosted group.
