Association of COVID-19 booster and Omicron in the NBA

Editor's Note

This study, led by researchers at IQVIA, Durham, North Carolina, finds that in a young, healthy, highly vaccinated cohort of players and staff in the National Basketball Association (NBA), booster vaccinations were associated with a significant reduction in COVID-19 infections during the Omicron wave.

Of 2,613 players and staff in the NBA, those who were fully boosted experienced 608 confirmed COVID-19 infections, and they were significantly less likely to be infected than fully vaccinated individuals who were booster eligible and had not received a booster. Fully vaccinated was defined as 2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or 1 dose of the J&J vaccine, and fully boosted was defined as 14 days after receiving any booster dose.

Surveillance testing in this cohort captured both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. Omicron was the dominant variant. There were no hospitalizations or deaths.

Continued research is needed to assess the need for additional boosters beyond a single booster dose, the researchers say.