A booster shot of COVID-19 vaccine would provide enough protection against the Omicron variant while two doses may not be sufficient, said COVID-19 vaccine developers Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE on Wednesday.
Three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine would generate sufficient serum antibodies to neutralize the Omicron variant, said a joint release by the two companies citing results from an initial laboratory study.
The study shows that two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine “may not be sufficient to protect against infection with the Omicron variant.”
However, individuals administered with two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine may still be protected against severe forms of diseases resulting from Omicron infection, according to the release.
Omicron variant may change course of COVID-19 pandemic: WHO chief
Certain features of the Omicron variant, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.
With the Omicron variant now present in 57 countries, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned at a press briefing that it can spread more rapidly than previous variants.
“We are now starting to see a consistent picture of rapid increase in transmission (rates), although for now the exact rate of increase relative to other variants remains difficult to quantify,” he said.
“Emerging data from South Africa suggest increased risk of re-infection with Omicron, but more data are needed to draw firmer conclusions,” he added.
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