People need to exercise caution regarding premature assessments of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, says the chair of Israel’s advisory council of experts.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ran Balicer reiterated his opinion “that the next two weeks will be full of opinions, personal impressions, incomplete and ambiguous data” regarding the new variant.
“Some will say it’s a serious problem, worse than expected, others will take us in exactly the other direction.
“In the meantime, it was important to `stay the course’ until truly scientifically reliable data are available.
“We have heard different assessments from the heads of Moderna and Pfizer.”
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Moderna chief Stephane Bancel had expressed scepticism about the efficacy of previous vaccines against Omicron, while Pfizer chief Albert Bourla spoke of possible reduced efficacy.
He said it’s normal in the first few weeks after a new variant emerges that everything is still nebulous, that you can’t make any firm statements yet.
“We really have to be patient,” said the Israeli expert. (dpa/NAN)
