Pfizer Says Third COVID Shot Protects against Omicron
2021-12-09
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1American drugmaker Pfizer said on Wednesday that the third shot, or booster, of its COVID-19 vaccine will protect people against the Omicron variant of the virus.
2Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said early lab tests show the booster increased levels of virus-fighting antibodies by "25-fold."
3The Pfizer research is early and has not been independently examined.
4A statement from Pfizer's top officer, Albert Bourla, said the two-shot vaccine still offers protection against severe disease caused by Omicron.
5But, Bourla said, "it's clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine."
6The company also said it has started to develop a COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron.
7If needed, the new vaccine will be ready by March 2022.
8The findings are similar to a small study published by researchers at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa on Tuesday.
9The South African study also suggested that a third shot might help against Omicron infection.
10However, Reuters reported that a study at the University Hospital of Frankfurt, Germany, found reduced antibody levels against Omicron even after three shots.
11Independent experts have not reviewed the studies.
12Health officials still do not know how big of a threat Omicron really is.
13The Delta variant is still responsible for most of the cases, especially in the United States.
14Omicron was first identified in Africa on November 9 and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 24.
15Two days later, the WHO designated it a variant of concern, or VOC.
16The agency said Omicron "has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning."
17A mutation is a change in the genetic material of a virus.
18The WHO added that early evidence suggests "an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs."
19Several countries, including the United States, Brazil, Japan, and Israel, restricted travelers from some African countries.
20But the variants have since been identified throughout Europe, North America and Australia.
21I'm Jonathan Evans.
1American drugmaker Pfizer said on Wednesday that the third shot, or booster, of its COVID-19 vaccine will protect people against the Omicron variant of the virus. 2Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech said early lab tests show the booster increased levels of virus-fighting antibodies by "25-fold." 3The Pfizer research is early and has not been independently examined. 4A statement from Pfizer's top officer, Albert Bourla, said the two-shot vaccine still offers protection against severe disease caused by Omicron. But, Bourla said, "it's clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine." 5The company also said it has started to develop a COVID-19 vaccine against Omicron. If needed, the new vaccine will be ready by March 2022. 6The findings are similar to a small study published by researchers at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa on Tuesday. The South African study also suggested that a third shot might help against Omicron infection. 7However, Reuters reported that a study at the University Hospital of Frankfurt, Germany, found reduced antibody levels against Omicron even after three shots. 8Independent experts have not reviewed the studies. 9Health officials still do not know how big of a threat Omicron really is. The Delta variant is still responsible for most of the cases, especially in the United States. 10Omicron was first identified in Africa on November 9 and reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) on November 24. Two days later, the WHO designated it a variant of concern, or VOC. 11The agency said Omicron "has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." A mutation is a change in the genetic material of a virus. The WHO added that early evidence suggests "an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs." 12Several countries, including the United States, Brazil, Japan, and Israel, restricted travelers from some African countries. But the variants have since been identified throughout Europe, North America and Australia. 13I'm Jonathan Evans. 14Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 15____________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17fold - n. a word to describe a quantity changes between an original and a subsequent measurement 18preliminary - adj. coming before something 19dose - n. the amount of medicine that is taken at one time