State DOH: Behavior may be more to blame for summer COVID surge than delta variant

Changes in people’s behavior around masking and other COVID protocols, plus the spread of the delta variant this summer, may have had more to do with vaccine efficacy declines than immunological waning. That’s according to a new study by the state Department of Health.

The study finds all three emergency-use authorized vaccines continue to show strong effectiveness against reinfection and even greater success preventing severe breakthrough cases.

There were modest declines limited to Pfizer and Moderna recipients age 65 years and up, which supports targeted booster dosing recommendations.

Researchers assessed nearly nine million adults in New York.

The Health Department is touting the study as the largest United States study by vaccine type and timing of vaccination conducted to date.