The European Medicines Agency (EMA), citing preliminary data, has said that the Kovid-19 vaccine Omicron remains effective against serious illness and hospitalization caused by the coronavirus.
“Although Omicron appears to be more contagious than other types, studies conducted in South Africa, the UK and some European Union (EU) member states suggest that the risk of hospitalization following infection with Omicron is low. Based on these studies, the risk is currently estimated to be between a third and half of the risk with the delta variant,” the EMA said in a release Tuesday.
It cited the results of recently published studies showing that the vaccine’s effectiveness against symptomatic disease is lower for Omicron than for other variants and tends to decrease over time. As a result, people who are more vaccinated are more likely to develop breakthrough disease due to Omicron.
Read more: WHO says more research needed on efficacy of vaccine against Omicron
However, these studies also suggest that vaccination continues to provide a high level of protection against serious illness and hospitalization associated with the Omicron variant, Xinhua has news agency reported.
The latest evidence, which includes real-world effectiveness data, also suggests that people who have taken a booster dose are better protected than those who have only received their primary course.
The EMA’s head of vaccine strategy, Marco Cavallari, said at a news conference on Tuesday that the agency continues to monitor the effectiveness of vaccines, and that the results of this evaluation could influence future vaccination strategies recommended by experts in EU member states. can.
He said taking a booster dose every three or four months was not effective enough as a long-term strategy.
“We don’t yet have data on the fourth dose that allows us to express ourselves, but we are concerned about a strategy that hopes to move forward with vaccination in a short period of time,” he said.
EMA said in the statement that efforts should continue to increase full immunization in individuals who are currently unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and efforts should be made to accelerate the rollout of booster doses.
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