A two-shot course of Pfizer\u2019s vaccination may offer 70% protection against being hospitalized with the Covid-19 omicron variant, South Africa\u2019s largest medical insurance provider Discovery said.<\/p>\n
The protection is maintained across age groups and in the face of a range of chronic illnesses, Ryan Noach, the chief executive officer of Discovery Health, said at a briefing Tuesday. Pfizer is 33% effective against infection by the omicron variant, he said.<\/p>\n
The Discovery study included about 78,000 Covid-19 test results for omicron infections from Nov. 15 to Dec. 7 in South Africa, the epicentre of the current omicron wave. Clinical records, vaccination records and pathology test results were examined.<\/p>\n
While there is a relatively high risk of reinfection with omicron, hospital-admission risk linked to omicron infection was 29% lower overall for the general adult population, compared with South Africa\u2019s first wave of infection in mid-2020, Noach said.<\/p>\n
The study\u00a0echoes the initial findings\u00a0of three other hospital groups that show most Covid patients don\u2019t need oxygen or intensive treatment for the illness.<\/p>\n
Scientists are still conducting scores of tests in order to get a better grasp of omicron\u2019s risks, and how significant they are will only be known in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n