Charlotte Webster-
Three doses of a Covid vaccine are necessary to stop most, but not all people catching the Omicron variant, UK scientists have said.
Previous analysis had indicated that the Omicron and Delta cases showed the vaccines to be less effective at stopping the new variant, but scientists now say a third booster is now said to prevent around 75% of people getting any Covid symptoms, but doesn’t explain which 25% are not protected from the variant by the vaccine.
Scientists analysed data from 581 Omicron cases and thousands of Delta cases to calculate how effective the vaccines were against the new variant, arriving at the estimate of 75% after their analysis.
Though based on limited data, the analysis showed a dramatic drop in effectiveness for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and a significant drop off for two doses of Pfizer.
The 75% protection against Covid symptoms after a booster is not as high as against previous variants.
There was insufficient data to analyse the Moderna or Janssen vaccines, but the UK Health Security Agency said vaccines were still likely to offer good protection against severe Covid that needed hospital treatment.
Neither have scientists provided a solid statistical basis for how they arrive at the 75% figure, but it is assume to be based on conducted studies, which need to be made public.
The announcement leaves the British public neither here nor there, except to provide a general guarantee that most people who have three doses will be protected from catching the virus. The sclaim leaves no room for testing its validity except to encourage the public to opt for the booster dose with the general expectation that protection will follow the third jab in the overwhelming majority of cases.
Secretary Michael Gove, who chaired a meeting with first ministers of the devolved nations this afternoon, warned about “deeply concerning situation”.
Speaking after the meeting of the government’s emergency committee Cobra, he said measures taken so far were “proportionate”, adding thAT ministers were keeping everything under review.
“Action is absolutely required, and as new data comes in we will consider what action we do require to take in the face of that data,” he added.
The credibility of British ministers is currently in tartars following revelation of multiple parties at Downing Street last year, and one in particular said to ahve been hosted by former Eduucation Secretary, Gavin Williamson. They appear to be willing to say anything to tick the boxes, , although independent data about the virus from other countries like South Africa, can be sued to support reports of a fast spread of the Omicron variant.
A more important question about the Omicron variant relates to the hospitalisation and death rates. Those are yet to be established, and will provide a more informed picture of the ultimate danger associate with the variant.
The government has said it is updating its guidance for care homes in England – limiting the number of visitors allowed per resident, and increasing testing “in order to balance the current Covid-19 risk”.
Scientists analysed data from 581 Omicron cases and thousands of Delta cases to calculate how effective the vaccines were against the new variant.
The analysis is based on limited data, but showed a dramatic drop in effectiveness for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and a significant drop off for two doses of Pfizer.
The 75% protection against Covid symptoms after a booster is not as high as against previous variants.
There was insufficient data to analyse the Moderna or Janssen vaccines, but the UK Health Security Agency said vaccines were still likely to offer good protection against severe Covid that needed hospital treatment.
So far, around 22 million people have received a booster dose, but even if everyone was boosted the lower vaccine effectiveness would still leave millions of people susceptible.
The number of Omicron cases is reportedly doubling every two-to-three days.
The UKHSA estimates that more than half of all cases in the country will be Omicron by the mid-December and that if growth continues unabated there will be more than 100,000 cases a day by the end of the month.
Dr Mary Ramsay, the head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: “These early estimates should be treated with caution but they indicate that a few months after the second jab, there is a greater risk of catching the Omicron variant compared to Delta strain.”
“We expect the vaccines to show higher protection against the serious complications of COVID-19, so if you haven’t yet had your first two doses please book an appointment straight away.”
Under the new guidance for care homes in England, residents will only be permitted to receive visits from three people, plus one essential care giver.