As scientists race to get full picture of the threat posed by the latest coronavirus variant, Omicron, Israel health officials share somewhat good news for those who are fully vaccinated.
Health minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Tuesday that it appears people who received two jabs within the last six months or a booster are protected against Omicron.
The news comes after two new cases of the ‘super-mutant’ variant were identified in Israel, brining the total to four.
Without citing any data, Horowitz told local reporters: ‘In the coming days we will have more accurate information about the efficacy of the vaccine against Omicron – but there is already room for optimism, and there are initial indications that those who are vaccinated with a vaccine still valid or with a booster, will also be protected from this variant.’
The news comes just hours before a report from an Israeli news channel said the Pfizer vaccine is 90 percent effective in preventing infection of Omicron, but those who are unvaccinated have a 2.4 times greater chance of developing serious symptoms.
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Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said on Tuesday that it appears people who received two jabs within the last six months or a booster are protected against Omicron
The two new cases are doctors who work at the Sheba Medical Center, both of which are also fully vaccinated, The Jerusalem Post reports.
One of the doctors contracted the virus while at a medical conference in London, but had tested negative before boarding a plane home to Israel.
However, a few days later he was tested again, which showed positive, and the results were sequenced to show he had the new variant.
The doctor notified health officials he had come in contact with another doctor at, a cardiologist in his 70s, who has also tested positive for the Omicron variant.
Without citing any data, Horowitz (left) told local reporters: ‘In the coming days we will have more accurate information about the efficacy of the vaccine against Omicron. Right is Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the two gave a conference about the new variant on Nov 26
An Israeli news channel said the Pfizer vaccine is 90 percent effective in preventing infection of Omicron, but those who are unvaccinated have a 2.4 times greater chance of developing serious symptoms.
Both doctors were fully vaccinated with three shots of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine.
‘The vaccine is really crucial right now,’ Horowitz said on Tuesday. ‘Anyone who is exposed to the variant without a vaccine will put themselves at unnecessary risk.’
The news from Israel comes the same day as a report from Israel’s Channel 12 news station that said the Pfizer vaccine is 90 percent effective against Omicron, while it was 95 percent effective against the Delta variant.
However, the report notes that Pfizer is 93 percent effective eat preventing serious among those who are fully vaccinated and received a booster.
According to the report, Omicron’s ability to infect people is 1.3 time higher than what was seen in the Delta – but symptoms are less severe.
At the same time, those not vaccinated have a 2.4 times greater chance of developing serious symptoms, a significant figure.
South African doctors, who first identified the new variant, said the strain appears to cause less severe symptoms.
Medics in South Africa said the strain is causing mild symptoms — such as a headache and tiredness — than previous versions of the virus and hasn’t led to a single hospitalization or death.
On Monday, Professor Karl Lauterbach, a clinical epidemiologist who is in the running to be Germany’s next health minister, said the early reports means Omicron could be a Christmas gift and may even speed up the end of the pandemic.
He suggested that it has so many mutations — 32 on the spike protein alone, twice as many as Delta — which could mean it is optimized to infect and be less lethal, in line with how most respiratory viruses evolve.