Pfizer Vaccine Protects Against Omicron Sublineages, Discovery Says
- Two-dose regimen gives 87% protection from hospitalization
- Discovery is the biggest South African health insurer
A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Hannah Beier/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine appears to largely prevent severe disease from the coronavirus omicron variants sublineages BA.4 and BA.5, a study by South Africa’s biggest health insurer shows.
The two-shot Pfizer course offers 87% protection against being hospitalized with the strains that are driving the country’s fifth wave of infections, Discovery Health Ltd., basing its study on the the more than 1 million clients it has in Gauteng province. That level of protection was based on infection in patients one to two months after receiving their second dose.