S.Africa's health body sees threefold higher risk of reinfection from Omicron

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FILE PHOTO: A nurse prepares a dose of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine as the new Omicron variant spreads, in Dutywa, in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa November 29, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The new Omicron variant of the coronavirus poses a threefold higher risk of reinfection than the currently dominant Delta variant and the Beta strain, a group of South African health bodies said on Thursday.

The South African Centre for Epidemiological Modelling and Analysis along with National Institute of Communicable Diseases said latest findings “provide epidemiological evidence for Omicron’s ability to evade immunity from prior infection”.

Their statement was issued after a group of South African health organisations published a paper on medrxiv.org as a pre-print, meaning the work was not yet certified by peer review.

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