Omicron Appears to Evade Vaccines Better Than Other Variants

Preliminary studies suggest that existing vaccines falter in preventing symptomatic infections caused by the new coronavirus variant, but protection against severe disease is still high.

Written byJef Akst

| 3 min read

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Two dozes of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provided just 33 percent protection against infection during a surge in infections in South Africa that is dominated by the new Omicron variant, according to preliminary analyses announced today (December 14) at a press briefing by Discovery Health (South Africa’s largest private health insurer) and the South African Medical Research Council. This compares with 80 percent protection before Omicron’s emergence.

“The omicron-driven fourth wave has a significantly steeper trajectory of new infections relative to prior waves. National data show an exponential increase in both new infections and test positivity rates during the first three weeks of this wave, indicating a highly transmissible variant with rapid community spread of infection,” said Discovery Health chief executive Ryan Noach, according to the Associated Press.

The study—based on more than 211,000 positive COVID-19 tests, about 78,000 of which were attributed to infections with Omicron—did not factor in ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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