New Covid cases approach record in South Africa after omicron

South African scientists said last Friday (10) that they see no signs that the omicron variant of the coronavirus is causing more severe symptoms. At the same time, new daily infections are approaching an all-time high, and authorities have announced plans to begin giving booster doses of the vaccine.

South Africa warned the world about omicron late last month, leading to widespread fears that the new strain, containing large numbers of mutations, would trigger a massive increase in global infections.

Hospital data indicate that admissions of Covid-19 patients are rising sharply in more than half of South Africa’s nine provinces, but the death toll has not been rising as dramatically. Indicators such as the average length of hospital stay are reassuring.

Scientists think it takes more time to reach a definitive conclusion, but Health Minister Joe Phaahla described the signs about the strain’s severity as positive.

“Preliminary data suggest that while the rate of hospitalizations has been rising, this is purely due to the large number of infections rather than the severity of the strain itself,” he said.

In a nationwide outbreak in recent days linked to the new variant, about 20,000 people have been contracting Covid-19 a day. According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, 19,018 new cases were reported on Thursday (9) and 20 deaths.

The daily number of new cases has yet to peak at more than 26,000 daily cases reported during Covid’s third wave, driven by the delta variant.

South Africa has already fully vaccinated about 38% of its adult population, more than many other African countries, but that percentage is far short of the government’s year-end target. Some recent vaccine deliveries have been delayed due to oversupply as the pace of vaccinations has slowed.

South African Health Department Deputy Director General Nicholas Crisp said on Friday that booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be made available to people six months after they receive their second dose. The first people will be able to start receiving the booster dose later this month.

Janssen’s booster vaccines, already made available to health professionals participating in a survey, will begin to be distributed to others soon, according to Crisp.

He denied that the supply of booster vaccines is a way to consume the country’s vaccine stock. “We don’t need to consume vaccines. They are expensive, and we will only use vaccines if there is evidence to justify their use,” he said.

The WHO (World Health Organization) recommended this month that booster doses be given to people who are immunocompromised or who have received an inactivated vaccine to protect them against weakening their immunity.

But the organization has previously said that the supply of primary doses should be prioritized, as in many developing countries the rate of vaccination is still worryingly low.

A small study by a South African research institute released this week suggested the omicron might partially evade the protection provided by two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, but the company and its partner, BioNTech, said that, according to initial laboratory tests, three doses of your vaccine can neutralize the variant.

Glenda Gray, chair of the South African Medical Research Council, said that among South African patients hospitalized with Covid, there are many more people unvaccinated than vaccinated and that evidence indicates that the Pfizer vaccine still provides protection.

“We’re seeing that this vaccine remains effective. Its effectiveness may be slightly reduced, but we’re seeing its effectiveness continue among hospitalized patients, and that’s highly encouraging,” she said.

Translation by Clara Allain