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A fourth vaccine dose given to individuals in Israel over age 60 made them three times more resistant to serious illness than people who had been vaccinated three times, according to Reuters (subscription).

• Israel started offering fourth shots earlier this month as the omicron variant surged in the country.

Early study results: “A preliminary study published by Israel’s Sheba medical centre last Monday found that the fourth shot increases antibodies to even higher levels than the third but ‘probably’ not to the point that it could completely fend off the highly transmissible Omicron variant.” The study compared 400,000 people over age 60 who got a second booster with 600,000 people of the same age who had only a first booster.

No deaths: While Israel, the most vaccinated nation in the world, has seen a significant COVID-19 uptick due to omicron, it has not reported any deaths from the variant.