Omicron: Vaccine may be 80 per cent effective against new variant ― NCDC

NCDC DG, Ifedayo Adetifa

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control(NCDC) Dr Ifedayo Adetifa has said the available vaccines can be 80 percent against new variant of COVID-19 virus particularly the newly discovered Omicron variant.

Adetifa said this on Wednesday while appearing on a live TV show monitored by Tribune Online to discuss COVID-19 new variant mutation and other public health issues in Nigeria.

Adetifa said vaccination remain powerful tools in the public health management arsenal to prevent transmission against infectious diseases and ultimately death caused by this virus.

“We believe even if this particular variant has any impact on vaccination may be reducing it protective effect, it is not going to be equal to full abrogation”.

“It might have to have this theoretically speaking like if the vaccines was 90 percent against severe disease and death from delta, may be it will reduced it to 80 percent against Omicron”.

“The issue is while we work out the impact of this strain will have on vaccine protective effect, the point remains that vaccines are effective, safe and confered protection and people should get vaccinated”.

“This is matter of ongoing investigation and yes we have mutations that have been seen in spike like this but theoretically, we confirmed the risk of transmitting, cosmos severe disease or recourse from reducing effective from existing vaccines but the reality is that we don’t know”.

“What we know is that today, the cases currently affected by this variant has been remorseful asymptomatic, no death. We are still watching and obviously we need sometimes to what happen when it is affecting pocket of population like what is suspectible like the elderly, we don’t know”.

“What we know is that the current public health service measures and vaccination confered protection. It might not be 100 percent perfect and there is nothing like 100 percent perfect but the protection they offer, is useful and beneficial and people should adhere to those measures and make use opportunity that is currently provided especially in Nigeria to receive the vaccines”.