Omicron variant has been detected in Two Singapore residents even after receiving Covid-19 booster shots.
A 24-year-old female airport passenger service worker has returned a preliminary positive test to Omicron, in what would be the city-state’s first local case of the variant, the health ministry said in a statement late Thursday. The second person is considered an imported case after returning from Germany via the vaccinated travel lane.
In the second case, the 46-year-old had tested negative with a PCR test on arrival. However, she developed a runny nose the next day and sought medical treatment the day after that, when she tested positive. Both had received the third dose of vaccines, the ministry said.
As per experts, this may shed light on the protection offered by the third dose of vaccine.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE earlier this week said initial lab studies show a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine may be needed to neutralize the Omicron variant. Company researchers observed a reduction in neutralizing antibodies that fight the variant, compared with the original strain of the virus, in people who got just two shots. However, boosting with an additional shot of the vaccine restored protection to a level similar to the initial two-dose regimen.
A 24-year-old female airport passenger service worker has returned a preliminary positive test to Omicron, in what would be the city-state’s first local case of the variant, the health ministry said in a statement late Thursday. The second person is considered an imported case after returning from Germany via the vaccinated travel lane.
In the second case, the 46-year-old had tested negative with a PCR test on arrival. However, she developed a runny nose the next day and sought medical treatment the day after that, when she tested positive. Both had received the third dose of vaccines, the ministry said.
As per experts, this may shed light on the protection offered by the third dose of vaccine.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE earlier this week said initial lab studies show a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine may be needed to neutralize the Omicron variant. Company researchers observed a reduction in neutralizing antibodies that fight the variant, compared with the original strain of the virus, in people who got just two shots. However, boosting with an additional shot of the vaccine restored protection to a level similar to the initial two-dose regimen.
