The vaccine against COVID-19 developed by the companies Pfizer and BioNTech is “still effective” after “three doses” against the Omicron variant of the virus, the laboratories said on Wednesday, which however wish to finalize a suitable vaccine “by March” .
According to studies carried out by the two companies “the vaccine is still effective against COVID-19 also against the Omicron variant, if it has been administered three times”, but this variant is “probably not sufficiently neutralized after two doses” .
“We will continue to develop a vaccine specific to the Omicron variant and hope to make it available by March in case an adaptation is necessary,” the laboratories said in a statement.
“A third dose provides a level of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron similar to that seen after two doses” for the other variants, they added.
“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it is clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” Albert summed up. Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, quoted in a statement.
The Omicron variant, considered “highly transmissible by the WHO”, was detected for the first time at the end of November in South Africa, and was quickly identified in many countries.
Its appearance has caused a wave of panic, especially in Europe, already in the grip of a massive fifth wave of COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant.
But it does not appear to increase the severity of symptoms, according to the latest data released by the WHO.
It is “almost certain” that Omicron does not cause more serious cases than Delta, White House adviser Anthony Fauci told AFP on Tuesday.