These conclusions, which are preliminary, are based on 78,000 positives attributed to the Omicron variant out of a total of 210,000 cases registered and analyzed by the private insurer Discovery (the largest in the country, with 3.7 million clients) and the Medical Research Council. South Africa (SAMRC).
Of the total of these infections, 41% were registered in people vaccinated with the double dose of Pfizer.
The data collected indicates that the effectiveness of this inoculation pattern fell from the 80% shown against the delta variant that drove the last wave of infections, to 33% against Ómicron.
Also, the difference in protection against severe disease and the need for hospitalization between vaccinated and unvaccinated decreased from 93% versus delta to 70% with Omicron.
“The data indicates that the severity of Omicron is 29% lower than in the first wave of COVID-19 infections in South Africa,” also notes this first large study conducted with real data attributed to the impact of this new variant.
The incubation period could also be shorter with Omicron (3-4 days, according to this research) and the most common early symptoms are a sore throat and mucus.
“Most of the hospitalized are not vaccinated,” emphasizes the study by Discovery and SAMRC, which also indicates that only 16% of people in intensive care were patients with the full vaccination schedule.