The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Feb. 2, edition that the latest versions of COVID-19 vaccines were 54 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic infection in adults, says the first U.S. study to assess how well the shots work. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that the shots became available last year and were designed to better protect against more recent coronavirus variants. In Thursday's study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at 9,000 people who got tested for COVID-19 at CVS Health and Walgreens pharmacies, checking who tested positive and whether they had a new shot or not. The 54-per-cent finding is similar to what has been reported in other countries, and it is also about what was reported for an earlier vaccine version, said the CDC's Ruth Link-Gelles. Studies coming out later this year will assess how effective the shot was at preventing symptoms severe enough to send patients to a doctor's office or hospital, she said. The CDC recommends the new shots for everyone six months and older, but most Americans have not had them. The latest CDC data suggest only about 22 per cent of U.S. adults have had the shots, and only 11 per cent of children.