Impact of booster vaccination interval on SARS-CoV-2 infection, hospitalization, and death

Objectives: We investigated how booster interval affects the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection and Covid-19related hospitalization and death in different age groups. Methods: We collected data on booster receipts and Covid-19 outcomes between September 22, 2021 and February 9, 2023 for 5,769,205 North Carolina residents >= 12 years of age who had completed their primary vaccination series. We related Covid-19 outcomes to baseline characteristics and booster doses through Cox regression models. Results: For adults >= 65 years of age, boosting every 9 months was associated with proportionate reductions (compared with no boosting) of 18.9% (95% CI, 18.5-19.4) in the cumulative frequency of infection, 37.8% (95% CI, 35.3-40.3) in the cumulative risk of hospitalization or death, and 40.9% (95% CI, 37.2-4 4.7) in the cumulative risk of death at 2 years after completion of primary vaccination. The reductions were lower by boosting every 12 months and higher by boosting every 6 months. The reductions were smaller for individuals 12-64 years of age. Conclusion: Boosting at a shorter interval was associated with a greater reduction in Covid-19 outcomes, especially hospitalization and death. Frequent boosting conferred greater benefits for individuals aged >= 65 than for individuals aged 12-64. (c) 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )