UK Health Security Agency says boosters give 75% protection against mild Omicron
FILE PHOTO: Small bottles labeled with a "Vaccine COVID-19" sticker and a medical syringe are seen in this illustration taken taken April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
Dec 10, 2021: Critical findings from a real world study shows booster COVID-19 vaccine shots give an estimated 70 percent to 75 percent protection against mild disease from the new Omicron variant, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
The findings released on Friday are some of the earliest data on the protection against Omicron outside of lab studies, which have shown reduced neutralising activity against Omicron.
As per early real-world data while Omicron could greatly reduce the protection against mild disease from an initial two-dose vaccination course, boosters restored the protection to an extent.
“These early estimates should be treated with caution but they indicate that a few months after the second jab, there is a greater risk of catching the Omicron variant compared to Delta strain,” Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA said, adding that protection against severe disease was expected to remain higher.
She said the data suggests the risk of disease is significantly reduced following a booster vaccine, hence she urges people to get booster shots if available.
It was observed on 581 people with certified Omicron, two doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines provide the very low level of protection against symptomatic infections that they provide against the delta. However, when the dose of Pfizer vaccine was increased, people who initially received AstraZeneca had about 70% protection against symptomatic infections, and those who received Pfizer had about 75% protection. This compares favorably with Delta’s estimated 90% post-booster infection protection.
The UK health security also said, at current trends, Omicron would account for more than 50 percent of all COVID-19 infections by mid-December, with the UK exceeding one million infections by the end of the month.
The fear of Omicron has spooked many rich nations to once again start hoarding booster vaccine doses as the WHO expressed concerns that the practice of hoarding of COVID-19 vaccines could strain global supplies again, complicating efforts to stamp out the pandemic.
The WHO, after a meeting of its expert panel on vaccination, reiterated its advice to governments against the widespread use of boosters in their populations so that well-stocked countries instead can send doses to low-income countries that have largely lacked access to them.
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