Omicron vaccine will be ready by March, says Pfizer CEO

Pfizer CEO announced on Monday that an Omicron vaccine, one that targets the Omicron variant of coronavirus, will be ready in March. "This vaccine will be ready in March," Bourla told sources, adding that the vaccine can target other variants and that some countries want it ready as soon as possible.

A third dose of COVID-19 vaccine can provide up to 88 per cent protection against hospitalisation from infection by the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to early results from studies conducted in the UK.

The findings compiled in a report by the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) show significantly higher protection provided by third vaccine dose against the highly mutated variant first identified in Botswana and South Africa in November, compared to two doses.

Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine, and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in the US noted that vaccine effectiveness drops to 52 per cent against Omicron around six months after taking the second shot of a Covid-19 vaccine However, a booster dose substantially increases immunity and lowers the odds of being hospitalised with COVID-19 infection.

"That's a big boost of protection for 3rd dose vaccine vs hospitalisation from Omicron infection. Vaccine effectiveness increased from 52 per cent (due to 2-dose waning after 6 months) to 88 per cent after the 3rd dose," Topol tweeted on Sunday.

"It is pretty impressive that vaccines directed to the ancestral strain spike from 2 years ago, with the virus that's evolved through more than 290 million confirmed cases, and now to the hyper-mutated Omicron, have preserved efficacy of near 90 per cent vs severe disease with a 3rd shot," he said in another tweet.