According to officials at Pfizer, three vaccine doses appear effective against the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
Reports in South Africa into this fast-spreading strain have found the Pfizer vaccine can provide protection against Omicron, especially with the extra booster shot.
University of Otago Immunologist Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu believes more results will be released in days to come which will further the World Health Organisation's research from the preliminary data of the Pfizer/BioNTech.
So far, the results that were released from South Africa indicates, people who had a previous Covid-19 infection – will be “protected from Omicron” if they were vaccinated, she says.
“Results made available from an initial laboratory study have shown that the antibody levels generated after receiving three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine can offer protection from the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”
South Africans are facing a fourth wave of Covid, with the recent rise of infections of both a resurgent Delta and the new Omicron variant.
Promising signs
The cases of the new strain have risen by 255% in the past week because of the low vaccination rates.
“Pfizer showed with all of its preliminary work, that if people were given three doses of the Pfizer vaccine, that they got much better protection from the Omicron variant compared to what they got with the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.”
“Antibody levels generated in response to Omicron after just two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine showed reduced immune protection.
Whānau Ora's Dr Vanshdeep Tangri, based in Takanini, says it is too early to make a call over the new strain at this stage but it could be promising signs for people who have had their booster shot – third dose.
“We're still very early with the Omicron variant and there's a lot of data still coming out. We don't know a lot about the Omicron variant," he says.
This is the second week of New Zealanders taking their booster shots.
“Overall people are quite relieved especially a lot of our healthcare workers who are getting it. They've been waiting for it for a while.”