Data indicate Omicron is milder and better at evading vaccines

The analysis was based on examining more than 211,000 COVID-19 test results that date from Sept 1 to Dec 7.

The omicron variant appears to cause less severe disease than previous versions of the coronavirus, and the Pfizer vaccine seems to offer less defense against infection from it but still good protection from hospitalisation, according to an analysis of data from South Africa, where the new variant is driving a surge in infections. The findings released Tuesday are preliminary and have not been peer-reviewed 'the gold standard in scientific research' but they line up with other early data about omicron's behaviour, including that it seems to be more easily transmitted.

Still, some experts cautioned that it's too soon to draw conclusions about the outcomes from omicron since the variant is still quite new and hospitalisations can lag weeks behind infections.

People who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine appeared to have just 33% protection against infection, compared to those who were unvaccinated, during South Africa's current omicron-fuelled wave, but 70% protection against hospitalisation, according to an analysis conducted by Discovery Health, South Africa's largest private health insurer, and the South African Medical Research Council.