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Hopeful vaccine news breaking this afternoon
Vaccine producers Pfizer and BioNTech expect to have a vaccine for Omicron prepared by March.
BioNTech and Pfizer said on Wednesday a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine was shown to generate a neutralising effect against the new Omicron variant in a laboratory test.
In the first official statement from vaccine manufacturers on the likely efficacy of their shot against Omicron, BioNTech and Pfizer said in a joint statement that two vaccine doses resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies but that a third dose of their vaccine increased the neutralising antibodies by a factor of 25.
They added that, if needed, they can deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022.
It’s also been reported that a booster dose of the vaccine is similar to two doses against Omicron than the single dose for older strains.
An Omicron targetting vaccine could be produced by March 2022, they claim
The announcement sparked a rocketing of Pfizer and BioNTech stocks after the vaccine was shown to have a neutralizing effect against the new Omicron coronavirus variant in a laboratory test.
Shares of Pfizer turned 0.8% higher in premarket trading.
It comes after an initial study suggested Pfizer vaccine antibodies could be up to 40 times less effective in providing protection against the fast-spreading Omicron variant.
Those double jabbed who have also recovered from being infected with Covid are likely to have the best protection from the strain, which was first recorded in South Africa in November, suggesting boosters will bring a benefit.
Vaccines are still likely to provide protection against severe disease and death from the variant.
The limited study analysed only 12 patients who had been double jabbed with the Pfizer vaccine, but is believed to be the first evidence about vaccine effectiveness against the new variant.
An initial study suggested Pfizer vaccine antibodies could be 40 times less effective against the Omicron strain
The World Health Organisation has said there is no indication that Omicron causes any more severe disease in an infected person than Delta, which is currently the dominant variant.
Because of the rapid nature of the spread of Omicron, vaccine experts and scientists across the world have been racing to find out more about how it behaves.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has confirmed there is community spread of the variant although travel red lists with certain countries remain in place.
Yesterday the number of Omicron cases hit 437 with 101 new infections have been confirmed – however the real figure is likely to be much higher than that. Today’s figures will be released later this afternoon.
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