Vaccines, pills and data offer some Christmas cheer in face of Omicron advance
India TodayOmicron advanced across the world on Thursday, with health experts warning the battle against the Covid-19 variant was far from over despite two drugmakers saying their vaccines protected against it and signs it carries a lower risk of hospitalisation. But in another glimmer of hope two days before Christmas, a US Federal Drug Administration official said data indicated that both Merck & Co Inc's and Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 anti-virals are effective against the variant. Read | Why vaccines may continue to work against Omicron "Let's be careful not to extrapolate what we are seeing in South Africa across the continent, or across the world," Africa Centres for Disease Control chief John Nkengasong said. A separate South African government-backed study, yet to be peer-reviewed, on health workers given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine identified "clear and early de-coupling" of hospitalisation from Omicron cases compared with Delta. Novavax also said early data showed its vaccine - authorised for use by the European Union and WHO but yet to be approved by the United States - generated an immune response against Omicron.