The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been found likely to be less effective against the Omicron variant, according to data from South Africa.
- Africa Health Research Institute researchers have found a fortyfold reduction in vaccine-induced antibodies which could counter the Omicron variant recorded so far in several countries and at least 19 states.
- The researchers reported that the Omicron variant was likely to be better at escaping the antibodies produced by the Pfizer vaccine than the Beta variant, the first detected in South Africa.
- BioNTech Chief Executive Officer Dr. Uğur Şahin said more data on the Omicron variant is due on Wednesday or Thursday, noting that he “would be more optimistic.”
Virologist Alex Sigal noted that the results could still change as more experiments are conducted.
PFE is down 0.42%, while BNTX is down 2.69%.
Source: NBC
