Pfizer jab 'offers 70% protection against hospital admission with Omicron'

South African Medical Association chairwoman Dr Angelique Coetzee: 'The symptoms we are seeing in (vaccinated) people are less severe or intense than in the unvaccinate'

A new study, based on preliminary data from the first three weeks of the Omicron surge in South Africa, suggested that two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab makes vaccinated people 70% less likely to be admitted to hospital compared with those who are unvaccinated. File Picture: Yui Mok/PA

Most cases of Omicron in South Africa are mild, the head of its medical association has said, as new real-world data suggests two doses of the Pfizer vaccine offer 70% protection against hospital admission.

Dr Angelique Coetzee, chairwoman of the South African Medical Association, told the UK's Commons Science and Technology Committee she agrees with a new study from the South African Medical Research Council suggesting that Omicron may be 29% less severe than the first wave of infection that swept the country.