Questions about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which has emerged in the past weeks and caused some restrictions to be re-initiated all over the world, still continue. At the very beginning of these questions is the issue of how the two and three doses of vaccines provide effectiveness against the variant. BioNTech founder Uğur Şahin, who makes frequent statements about the vaccine and Omicron, made another statement today.
prof. Dr. Uğur Şahin, in his statements to the Le Monde newspaper, stated that the first findings from studies conducted in Britain showed that the vaccine was 70% protective after the third dose. He stated that this rate is between 20% and 40% after the second dose. Stating that these observations are similar in South Africa, Şahin added that these data show that the vaccine provides 70% protection against severe disease.
“There will be a loss of effect over time”
Answering the question of how long the protection offered by the third dose will last, Şahin said, “There will be a loss of effectiveness against Omicron over time, this is possible. Real-time data would be more appropriate for me to make an estimation based on the preliminary findings of the studies conducted in the laboratory. ” he said. Şahin explained that there is a risk of contracting the virus in all three doses, with the following words:
“It is clear that we are far from the first 95 percent protection against the virus. In any case, our vaccine protects 70-75 percent against all kinds of diseases in the third dose. That’s a good ratio for a vaccine in general. ”
Uğur Şahin, lastly, to the question of whether a new vaccine will be developed against coronavirus, said, “Our 100-day target continues. This means that, with regulatory approval, we could be able to develop a COVID vaccine suitable for Omicron in May. ” he replied.
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