One of the scientists behind the CfID-19 vaccine at Pfizer-BioNTech said he believed the vaccines alone would not be enough to fight the Omicron variant, according to the New York Post.
BioNTech CEO Ugur Shahin warned that other precautionary measures should be put in place to stem the spread of the virus, especially with the advent of the more contagious option.
"Even triple-vaccinated people can transmit the disease and they will have to be tested, especially around vulnerable people," Shahin told the French newspaper Le Monde.
"As the Omicron option becomes dominant, safeguards will remain essential, especially this winter," he said.
Sahin said the German company was working on an adapted version of its Omicron-compliant vaccine, which could be available by March.
He predicts that those who received the original Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and its booster will see a drop in efficacy against Omicron after some time.
Shahin said he was waiting for more data to confirm the findings of a German study, which suggests that the effectiveness of the vaccine against the virus has dropped by about 25 percent after three months, even after three doses.
"Over time, there will be a loss of effectiveness against Omicron, it is very likely, but we still have to measure the speed," he said.
"Obviously, we are far from the 95 percent efficiency we had against the original virus. But after the third injection, our vaccine seems to provide 70% or 75% protection against any form of the disease, which is still a good result for the vaccine as a whole - and I think we will be well beyond that for severe forms, "he said.
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