After 4 doses of vaccines, people still catching Omicron

 While the extra dose — of either Pfizer or Moderna vaccine — seemed to have some effect, rates of infection among those with four doses were not substantially different from those who had three doses of Pfizer, the study official said.

Gili Regev-Yochay, a lead investigator on the study, told reporters that "the vaccine is excellent against the Alpha and Delta," but the study found that "for Omicron, it's not good enough," The Times of Israel reported Monday.

The investigator did not release data from the trial, noting that the results are preliminary. But she said she shared the early findings as there was a large public interest. 

The findings, if confirmed and vetted by other scientists after publication, could bolster calls for the development of a new version of the COVID-19 vaccines. Some new types of vaccines are already in the early stages of development.