[imagesource: Washington Post]

You’re going to hear the word ‘Omicron’ a great deal this festive season.

It’s unavoidable.

The UK has come to its senses and scrapped its ‘red list’ travel ban (thanks for nothing, Boris) but much of the damage has already been done.

At least it’s a step in the right direction as we continue to learn more about the Omicron variant and how best to protect against it.

Yesterday, the results of a study carried out by the South African Medical Research Council and Discovery Health shed new light on vaccine efficacy and other important matters.

The Daily Maverick reports:

[Discovery] said numbers show that the two-dose Pfizer vaccine provided 70% protection against severe complications of Covid-19 requiring hospitalisation and 33% protection against Covid-19 infection during the current Omicron wave.

According to Discovery’s data, the reinfection risk for individuals who have had Covid-19 previously is significantly higher when exposed to Omicron.

“The risk of hospital admission among adults diagnosed with Covid-19 is 29% lower for the Omicron variant infection compared to infections involving [the first variant] that drove South Africa’s first wave in mid-2020, after adjusting for vaccination status,” it said.

Sorry for those who thought their infection during a previous wave would save them.

Still, it’s good news that the hospital admission rate is lower than previous variants and that the two-dose Pfizer vaccine greatly reduces the chances of hospitalisation.

Discovery does note that all findings are preliminary in that they deal with data from the first three weeks of the variant’s spread, which is constantly evolving.

The latest data from the NICD shows that our test positivity rate continues to climb rapidly, and has now breached the one in three mark:

#COVID19 UPDATE: A total of 68,437 tests were conducted in the last 24hrs, with 23,884 new cases, representing a 34.9% positivity rate. A further 24 #COVID19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 90,172 to date. See more here: https://t.co/I5hA7oR9Ki pic.twitter.com/lj7QjcnSo8

— NICD (@nicd_sa) December 14, 2021

That number is worrying.

Discovery’s data also offers some insight into Omicron and children:

“Notwithstanding the fact that children continue to show a very low incidence of severe complications following Covid-19, Discovery Health’s data indicate that children under age 18 have a 20% higher risk of admission for complications of Covid-19 when infected with Omicron,” [Shirley Collie, who headed the actuarial team in the Discovery/SAMRC study] added…

“Anecdotal reports from hospitals in South Africa indicate that most Covid-19 diagnoses in children admitted to hospital are coincidental – many children who are admitted for non-Covid-19-related conditions, and who are not experiencing Covid-19 complications, test positive for Covid-19 on routine screening tests,” she added.

Based on data during the Omicron period, children are still 51% less likely to test positive for COVID-19 relative to adults.

Discovery’s data is broken down very well in this thread:

BREAKING [Thread]: 1. SA’s first real-world data on #Pfizer’s #COVID19 jab’s protection @ #Omicron infection + hospitalisation via @Discovery_SA + @MRCza

Note: This is data from the 1st 3 weeks of the outbreak, so it might change – regard it as preliminary real-world data pic.twitter.com/7sfPzarZlX

— Mia Malan (@miamalan) December 14, 2021

Netcare CEO Richard Friedland also offered some insight into what he has learnt at the helm of one of the country’s leading private hospital groups.

This from MyBroadband:

Friedland said that Netcare hasn’t had many real admissions for Covid-19 since it began monitoring the new variant on 15 November.

“I think it is because the new variant is causing mild to moderate disease. In many cases, it’s asymptomatic,” he said…

Friedland also emphasised the need for South Africans to get vaccinated.

“I can tell you one thing, 75% of the patients in our hospital who have Covid-19 are not vaccinated. I think that speaks volumes to the point that we should all be vaccinated,” he said.

If only presenting real-world data worked as an effective way of informing those who have dug in and chosen not to get vaccinated.

Good luck to those who have yet to get Omicron. I hope it doesn’t ruin your Christmas.

[sources:dailymav&mybb]