A fourth COVID shot is not yet required, stated UK experts, as the booster dose confers high protection against severe disease from the Omicron variant among older adults.

Data from the UK Health Security Agency suggest that three months after booster dose, protection against hospitalization remains at around 90% for individuals 65 years of age and above. Protection against mild symptomatic infection is, however, short-lived, and comes down to around 30% by about three months.

With only two vaccine doses, protection against severe disease declines to around 70% after three months and further drops to 50% after six months. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said that the priority is to administer first, second and third doses to people who have not received them yet… (BBC, January 8, 2022)