A major study out of South Africa suggests that Pfizer’s two-dose regimen offers only 33 percent protection against omicron, significantly lower than other variants, though the shots offered 70 percent protection against hospitalization.
“The Omicron-driven fourth [wave] has a significantly steeper trajectory of new infections relative to prior waves,” Discovery Health CEO Dr. Ryan Noach said, according to USA Today. Discovery Health is South Africa’s largest health insurer.
“National data show an exponential increase in both new infections and test positivity rates during the first three weeks of this wave, indicating a highly transmissible variant with rapid community spread of infection,” said Dr. Noach.
Responding to the news of the study, “Everything points to a large wave. A large wave is coming,” a senior Biden administration official told Axios. “It will be fast. It won’t be as severe, but regrettably, there will be plenty of hospitalizations,” the official added.
There is a bit of good news, though. Pfizer said Tuesday that its COVID pill, still under review, appears to dramatically reduce hospitalizations and deaths among those especially vulnerable to the virus.
Both rates were cut by 90 percent among people who took the pill within a few days of the onset of symptoms. US regulators are still considering the pill and another by Merck.
In another response to the surge in coronavirus cases, Philadelphia is joining New York and California in tightening COVID rules. CBS is reporting that COVID-19 vaccination proof will be required to dine at Philadelphia bars and restaurants as of January 3, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole announced Monday morning.
The mandate applies to indoor restaurants, bars, sports venues, cafes, casinos, movie theaters, and anywhere else that serves food or beverages where customers can sit down to enjoy them.
“New cases and hospitalizations are rising in Philadelphia and nationally, and with winter we must do more to protect our residents,” Mayor Jim Kenney said.
“We just don’t want to go back to where we were a year ago and it’s really not that much of a burden to ask people to be vaccinated, which I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t get vaccinated,” Kenney said.
South Korea just marked its deadliest day of the pandemic yet, per the Associated Press. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Tuesday that 94 virus patients died in the past 24 hours, and another 906 were in serious or critical condition.
The bottom line – The Delta variant is already driving yet another surge of cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. Omicron seems poised to make this significantly worse, given its high transmissibility and its ability to evade immune protection.
This is why health officials are encouraging everyone not vaccinated to take the coronavirus vaccine, and those already vaccinated to get a booster shot.
