JOHANNESBURG (DPA) – The new coronavirus variant Omicron is increasing the number of infections in South Africa. Health Minister Joe Fahla announced a 400 percent increase in the number of new infections in the Greater Johannesburg and Pretoria (Gauteng Province) region – the national epicenter of the infection process. Tests showed that the Omicron variant was behind about 70 percent of cases.

However, according to National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) scientist Glenda Gray and her colleague Michelle Grom, preliminary observations of mild disease courses and shorter hospital stays are confirmed.

No reason not to believe in vaccination protection

Research by Professor Alex Sigal from South Africa has also shown that Omicron can reduce vaccination protection, but depending on the number of antibodies developed, its effectiveness is up to 70 percent. “We see no reason to believe that vaccination does not protect against severe Omicron disease,” he said.

Sigal and his team from the African Health Research Institute (AHRI) are believed to be the world’s first scientists to artificially produce the virus. The focus was on research into protection by antibodies. “The virus uses the same receptors as the other variants,” he said. Although it changed its DNA, it hardly changed its behavior.

Even a booster doesn’t reduce the risk to zero

However, even booster vaccines do not provide complete protection against infection. Despite booster vaccinations, seven Germans in South Africa were infected with Omicron. Wolfgang Preiser, a member of the research consortium that discovered Omicron, told Tagspigel: “There are a lot of successful infections. What we didn’t know is that even a booster vaccination with the biotech/Pfizer doesn’t prevent it.”

He cautioned: “Of course you should not misunderstand that vaccination does not help. Quite the contrary: it just shows that even the best possible vaccination is clearly not enough to prevent infection.” Precautionary measures should be continued to be followed.

Booster prevented severe courses

The study by Preiser and his colleagues has not yet been published in a specialist journal. None of the seven Germans between the ages of 25 and 39 had a severe course of infection. “Of course now you can say: these are young people anyway. But you can assume that at least one difficult course will be prevented,” said Preiser of the South African Stellenbosch University.

The research team also concludes: Although the results underscore the need for a vaccine adjustment, protection against serious disease is likely to remain intact after booster vaccination. The biotech and Pfizer are working on a vaccine compatible with Omicron. However, it is still unclear whether this is actually needed.

In the new study, according to the researchers, all seven people had received at least two of their three vaccinations with the mRNA vaccine. Six of them received their booster vaccine from Biotech, one from Moderna. Booster vaccination was done at least a month ago. Four of them were doing internships in hospitals in South Africa, the rest three were on leave.

Biotech founder recommends booster after three months

Cape State is in the fourth wave of infections driven by Omicron Edition and has just allowed booster vaccinations. According to the African Union, eleven countries in the neighboring continent of Europe have now been diagnosed with Omicron infections.

Ugur Sahin, the biotech’s founder, spoke in favor of the first third vaccination given the proliferation of the Omicron variant. “With respect to Omicron, two doses are not yet a full vaccination with sufficient protection. If Omicron, as it appears, continues to spread, it makes scientific sense to offer a booster after three months,” says Sahin. “Spiegel” said. (Thursday). This has already been done in Great Britain.

According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), booster vaccines can be given after three months. Despite current recommendations to give a booster after six months, “currently available data suggest a safe and effective booster dose for up to three months after completion of the primary series,” said EMA director of vaccination strategy Marco Cavallari on Thursday. .

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211208-99-306782/5