Photo: SuppliedEpidemiologist Michael Baker says current border restrictions need to stay longer to keep Omicron out of the country. Michael Baker told Sunday Morning the country's current border controls are some of the tightest in the world, and are a good line of defence. Early analysis of UK Omicron and Delta cases showed the vaccines were less effective at stopping the new variant, with a dramatic drop in effectiveness for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and a significant drop off for two doses of Pfizer. While Baker said Omicron was bound to enter New Zealand eventually, warmer weather might work to our advantage. "We're now starting to see these very large studies particularly from the UK and this study followed 15,000 people who had infection," Baker said.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 12, 2021 04:17 UTC