A new study from South Africa on Tuesday (14th) showed that 2 doses of Pfizer vaccine can provide 70% protection in preventing patients from being hospitalized for Omicron infection.

The study was conducted by Discovery Health, the largest medical insurance company in South Africa. The study was based on more than 211,000 Covid-19 positive results between November 15 and December 7, of which about 78,000 were attributable to the Omicron variant.

Discovery Health uses real-world data to produce research results that show that when the number of confirmed diagnoses has risen recently, two doses of Pfizer’s BNT vaccine can protect patients from being admitted to the hospital due to Omicron, providing 70% protection, and preventing Omicron infection. Only 33%.

In the fight against the new coronavirus, in addition to Pfizer BNT, the main vaccine used in South Africa is the single-dose vaccine of Johnson & Johnson . At present, the country has received more than 20 million doses of Pfizer’s BNT vaccine.

According to the findings of Discovery Health, South Africa’s risk of reinfection during the fourth wave is higher than that of previous waves, but the risk of hospitalization for confirmed adults is 29% lower than that of the first wave in the country early last year.

Discovery Health also warned that although the absolute incidence is very low, during the fourth wave of outbreaks, the risk of children being admitted to the hospital due to complications seems to be 20% higher than that of the first wave.