Monday, November 2, 2026

Omicron variant can escape Pfizer vaccine: Study

Laboratory research has suggested that the Omicron variant can partially escape antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

• December 13, 2021
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, COVID-19 virus
A composite of Pfizer vaccine and COVID-19 virus used to illustrate the story

Laboratory research has suggested that the Omicron variant can partially escape antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The research, led by Alex Sigal from the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa, has been submitted to medRxiv, a preprint server for health sciences.

The research confirms predictions that a large number of mutations in the spike protein and elsewhere on the Omicron variant would translate into some evasion of the immune response induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Mr Sigal said on Twitter Tuesday that his lab tested blood from 12 people vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and found that there was a 41-fold decrease in the ability of antibodies from the vaccine to neutralise the Omicron variant. 

(Xinhua/NAN)

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Nigerian Bar Association

States

Independence: NBA urges Nigerians to expect better future

The NBA said that ordinary Nigerians should be deriving benefit from the subsidy removal rather than hardship.

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Africa

Morocco 2026: Flamingos edge Venezuela 1-0, face Brazil in Semi-final

Brazil had earlier secured a 2-1 win over China in their quarter-final encounter.

Faith

Makkah: Tinubu prays for Nigeria at dinner for members of delegation

The President also sought divine guidance for the country’s leaders and protection for Nigerians at home and abroad.

Kwara United FC

States

Kwara United suffer 2-1 defeat to Bendel Insurance

The defeat leaves Kwara United in 14th position on the NPFL table with 12 points from 11 matches.

Faith

Some Lagos mosques risk demolition, say experts

Mr Abou-Nolla urged mosque managers to obtain title documents before commencing construction and comply with relevant legal procedures.

NationWide

Customs deploy AI tools to curb fake news, online scams

Mr Adeniyi noted that AI-assisted risk management helped assess imported goods and categorise them according to their respective risk levels.