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HEALTH AND SCIENCE
Fauci says Covid boosters work against omicron, no need for variant-specific third shot
PUBLISHED WED, DEC 15 2021 12:24 PM EST
UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
Spencer Kimball
@SPENCEKIMBALL
WATCH LIVE
KEY POINTS
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said the primary two-dose vaccination series from Pfizer and BioNTech is significantly compromised by omicron.
However, two-doses still offer considerable protection against severe disease, Fauci said.
A booster dose increases protection against symptomatic disease to 75%, Fauci.
AP: Anthony Fauci: Confirmed case of Omicron in U.S. 211201
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021.
Susan Walsh | AP
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that currently available booster shots work against the omicron variant of Covid-19 and do not need to be adjusted to fight the new, highly contagious strain of the virus at this time.

"Our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron," Fauci told the public during a White House Covid update on Wednesday. "At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster."


Fauci said the primary two-dose vaccination series from Pfizer and BioNTech is significantly compromised by omicron, but still offers considerable protection against severe disease. Protection from the two-dose vaccine against infection dropped to 33% compared with 80% before the emergence of omicron. However, two doses are still 70% effective at preventing hospitalization in omicron patients in South Africa, Fauci said.

"Obviously, this is significantly down but there is the maintaining of a degree of protection against hospitalization," Fauci said.

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A booster dose increases protection against symptomatic disease to 75%, Fauci said, citing data from the U.K. Health Security Agency.