Pfizer’s Vaccine Takes a ‘Very Large’ Hit from Omicron–But Boosters Help

December 8, 2021

(MIT Technology Review) – A double dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine can’t stop the omicron virus, according to labs tests done in in South Africa and Germany, and either a booster or a new vaccine will be needed. The omicron variant was detected in South Africa last month, and because it contains a large number of genetic changes, scientists predicted it might “escape” protection offered by current vaccines, which were all based on the original version of SARS-CoV-2. (Read More)