South African Medical Staff: "Pfizer Two Doses Provide 70% Protection Against Omicron Hospitalization"

Hospitalization Prevention Effect Was 90% During Delta Variant Surge
COVID-19 Infection Protection Effect Dropped to 33%

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Medical staff in South Africa, where the COVID-19 Omicron variant is spreading, have reported that the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness in preventing hospitalization after two doses is 70%. This is a significant decrease from the 90% effectiveness observed during the Delta variant wave. The protection against COVID-19 infection itself is only about 33%, indicating that without a booster shot, protection against infection is difficult.

According to major foreign media on the 14th (local time), Discovery Health, South Africa's largest health insurance company, and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) jointly analyzed 211,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa from December 15 last month to January 7. They reported that the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness in preventing hospitalization after two doses was 70%.

Considering that during the Delta variant wave, the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness in preventing hospitalization after two doses reached 90%, this represents a decline. Under the Omicron variant wave, the protection against COVID-19 infection was found to be much lower at 33%. This is significantly lower compared to the 80% range during the Delta variant wave.

Recently, South Africa has been recording about 20,000 new COVID-19 cases daily, and during the study period, the dominant COVID-19 strain in South Africa was transitioning from the Delta variant to the Omicron variant, according to the researchers. However, under the Omicron variant wave, the risk of hospitalization for confirmed cases was analyzed to be about 29% lower compared to the early stages of the initial COVID-19 outbreak. Children have a very low incidence rate, but the risk of hospitalization due to complications was found to be 20% higher than during the early outbreak last year.

Glenda Gray, chairperson of SAMRC, stated, "This study's results are very encouraging," and evaluated that "the Pfizer vaccine appears to have an effect in preventing severe illness or hospitalization caused by Omicron variant infection."

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