CNET: “A booster from Moderna or Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine offers a “significant increase” in protection against both the delta and new, more contagious omicron variants, according to a new Danish study. In a report published Wednesday on the preprint server Medrxiv, scientists at Copenhagen’s Statens Serum Institut examined health records of 3 million Danes taken between Nov. 20 and Dec. 12. They found vaccine effectiveness among seniors 60 and older who had received a booster dose 14 to 44 days earlier averaged 54.6%, according to Reuters. (That’s comparable to the rate found shortly after receiving one shot of the Pfizer vaccine, which quickly wanes.)  Their research hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet, but it follows preliminary data from Monday indicating Moderna’s half-dose COVID booster shot can raise antibody levels against omicron 37 fold. Moderna president Stephen Hoge said during a conference call that the lab results were “reassuring” and put booster recipients “comfortably” above the level of a breakthrough risk. Moderna also indicated a potential double dose of the booster, 100 micrograms versus 50 micrograms, would increase omicron-neutralizing antibodies “approximately 83-fold higher than pre-boost levels.” Omicron has quickly become the dominant strain in the US, accounting for nearly 75% of new COVID-19 cases. While it appears able to evade some of the defenses offered by two doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, boosters offer some protection against infection and are highly effective in preventing serious illness. “The good news is when you boost someone, [protection] goes right back up,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said on CNN last week…”