4,152 cases of Covid were confirmed in Ireland on Wednesday.
BioNTech and Pfizer have confirmed that a booster dose of their Covid vaccine neutralises the Omicron variant following a laboratory test.
According to a
statement on the Pfizer website, the effectiveness of protection from the Omicron variant increased by 25 times following a third dose.
“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for Pfizer said.
“Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
“Our preliminary first dataset indicates that a third dose could still offer a sufficient level of protection from disease of any severity caused by the Omicron variant,” Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and co-founder of BioNTech said.
“Broad vaccination and booster campaigns around the world could help us to better protect people everywhere and to get through the winter season.
"We continue to work on an adapted vaccine which, we believe, will help to induce a high level of protection against Omicron-induced COVID-19 disease as well as a prolonged protection compared to the current vaccine.”
The companies are continuing their research into the effectiveness of the booster dose in relation to the Omicron variant, and are planning on launching an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin informed the Dáil this week that
thousands of people had missed their appointment for their booster vaccines since they've been made available.
According to Martin, 208,000 appointments were offered to eligible people in the week beginning 22 November, but only 80,000 of those arrived to receive the booster.
180,000 appointments were offered last week, but 93,000 of those arrived.
Over 1,000,000 booster vaccines have already been administered to eligible people and those that are immunocompromised.
