The study, two doses of Pfizer provide 33% protection against the Omicron variant

The first large-scale analysis of vaccine effectiveness in the region where the new variant was discovered supports what was previously known – that Omicroni is more easily transmitted and that the Pfizer vaccine is not as effective in protecting against infection as it was against the Delta variant. . The analysis was based on more than 211,000 positive COVID-19 test results, 41% of adults who had received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

The study was conducted by Discovery Health, South Africa’s largest private health insurance company, and the South African Medical Research Council.

The study began in the first weeks of November when the Omicron variant was discovered by scientists in South Africa and Botswana. The researchers stressed that the findings are preliminary and not reviewed by colleagues.

The result shows that vaccinated individuals who received two doses of Pfizer vaccine have 33% protection against Omicron infection, compared to those who were unvaccinated.

This represents a significant decrease from the 80% protection that the vaccine had against the previous variant, possibly due to lower antibody activation, following protein mutations in the Omicron variant.

“What is very encouraging is the fact that the effectiveness of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine stands at 70 percent against serious complications with the Omicron variant, which we measure with hospitalizations,” said Discovery Health chief executive Dr. Ryan Noach.

This protection against hospitalization has been reduced from the 93% level that the Delta variant vaccine had.

The study shows that protection against hospitalization remains the same at all ages, for people aged 18 to 79, with slightly lower levels of protection for the elderly, 67% for those aged 60 to 69 and 60% for persons aged 70 to 79./VOA

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