Effectiveness of Booster Vaccinations on the Control of COVID-19 during the Spread of Omicron Variant in Malaysia

(1) Background: The assessment of vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant is vital in the fight against COVID-19, but research on booster vaccine efficacy using nationwide data was lacking at the time of writing. This study investigates the effectiveness of booster doses on the Omicron wave in Malaysia against COVID-19 infections and deaths; (2) Methods: This study uses nationally representative data on COVID-19 from 1 January to 31 March 2022, when the Omicron variant was predominant in Malaysia. Daily new infections, deaths, ICU utilization and Rt values were compared. A screening method was used to predict the vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infections, whereas logistic regression was used to estimate vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19-related deaths, with efficacy comparison between AZD1222, BNT162b2 and CoronaVac; (3) Results: Malaysia's Omicron wave started at the end of January 2022, peaking on 5 March 2022. At the time of writing, statistics for daily new deaths, ICU utilization, and effective reproductive values (Rt) were showing a downtrend. Boosted vaccination is 95.4% (95% CI: 95.4, 95.4) effective in curbing COVID-19 infection, compared to non-boosted vaccination, which is 87.2% (95% CI: 87.2, 87.2). For symptomatic infection, boosted vaccination is 97.4% (95% CI: 97.4, 97.4) effective, and a non-boosted vaccination is 90.9% (95% CI: 90.9, 90.9). Against COVID-19-related death, boosted vaccination yields a vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 91.7 (95% CI: 90.6, 92.7) and full vaccination yields a VE of 65.7% (95% CI: 61.9, 69.1). Looking into the different vaccines as boosters, AZD1222 is 95.2% (CI 95%: 92.7, 96.8) effective, BNT162b2 is 91.8% (CI 95%: 90.7, 92.8) effective and CoronaVac is 88.8% (CI 95%: 84.9, 91.7) effective against COVID-19 deaths. (4) Conclusions: Boosters are effective in increasing protection against COVID-19, including the Omicron variant. Given that the VE observed was lower, CoronaVac recipients are encouraged to take boosters due to its lower VE.

Automated summary

This study investigates the effectiveness of booster doses on the Omicron wave in Malaysia against COVID-19 infections and deaths, and the results show that boosters have high efficacy in reducing COVID-19 infections and deaths.