Headline Roundup • December 8th, 2021
Pfizer Says Booster Shot Protects Against Omicron Variant
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that while the original two doses of their COVID-19 vaccine were less effective against the Omicron variant, a third booster dose brought protection back to previous levels.
The announcement was based on preliminary data that had not been peer reviewed or published. “Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said. Another study in South Africa also found two Pfizer doses to be less effective against Omicron.
Coverage was common from the left and center on Wednesday. Several Lean Right-rated outlets covered the story, but few Right-rated outlets reported on it as of Wednesday afternoon. Most coverage across the spectrum focused on the effectiveness of booster shots, with some outlets focusing on the decreased effectiveness of the main doses.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is less effective against the Omicron virus variant than other strains of the CCP virus, the companies said Wednesday, citing interim results from a study they’re running.
Scientists found on average a more than 25-fold reduction in neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant compared to the wild type, “indicating that two doses of BNT162b2 may not be sufficient to protect against infection with the Omicron variant,” the companies said in a statement.
BNT162b2 is another name for the vaccine. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus causes COVID-19.
Antibodies help...
Alisha Jucevic for The New York Times
Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday that laboratory tests suggest that three doses of their coronavirus vaccine offer significant protection against the fast-spreading Omicron variant of the virus.
The companies said that tests of blood from people who received only two doses found much lower antibody levels against the Omicron variant compared with an earlier version of the virus. That finding indicates that two doses alone “may not be sufficient to protect against infection” by the new variant, the companies said.
But the blood samples obtained from people one month after they...
CINDY ORD/GETTY IMAGES FOR PFIZER/BIONTECH
People who have received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine are likely susceptible to infection from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, but a third shot restores antibody activity against the virus, the companies said Wednesday.
Their findings are based on lab experiments using the blood of people who have received the vaccine. In a press release, the companies reported a 25-fold reduction on average in the levels of neutralizing antibody activity against the Omicron variant in people who had received two doses of their Covid-19 vaccine. But they also...
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