A THIRD jab can combat Omicron and save us from more lockdown pain, says a morale-boosting study.
Any two doses plus a Pfizer booster give up to 75 per cent protection, experts say.
New strain cases could hit a million by New Year but the rollout is flying, with Santa jabbed, left.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This data shows how important boosters are.”
Three shots also defend better against severe disease or death — but two doses will soon fail to prevent even a third of cases.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “This data shows how important boosters are.”
New strain cases could hit a million by New Year but the rollout is flying with Santa jabbed, pictured.
Mary Ramsay, jabs chief at the UKHSA, said: “These early estimates show that, a few months after the second jab, there is a greater risk of catching Omicron compared to Delta.
“But the data suggests this risk is significantly reduced following a booster vaccine.
“We expect the vaccines to show higher protection against the serious complications of Covid-19.”
Professor Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia, said: “It’s great news that the boosters take our protection back up to 70 to 80 per cent — now it’s vital that we get them rolled out.
“We know vaccines are better at protecting against severe disease than infection so I think we will see that that is high again.
“If you’ve had two doses and a natural infection you’re probably going to be quite well protected, too.
“The bad news is that Omicron is a lot more infectious than Delta but hopefully it will slow down. Ultimately it’s going to have to burn itself out.”
There have been 1,265 Omicron cases so far in the UK but none has yet been admitted to hospital.
Health chiefs said the results were “not as bad as we feared” and it is now mission critical for the booster rollout.
It is hoped huge take-up of jabs — especially boosters — will spare Brits from further lockdown misery.
Santa joined Trending In The News’s Jabs Army campaign yesterday and the millions getting a booster jab.
Volunteer Adrian Withers, 62 — who dressed up as Saint Nick — and nurse Bridget Gallagher, 25, give hundreds of doses of the jab every day at the PSM Pharmacy Practice in Tolworth, Surrey.
Adrian said: “We have more and more people coming to our pharmacy every day asking for their booster.”
Trending In The News is asking for a further 25,000 NHS volunteers to sign up to our campaign and help get Britain vaccinated. It comes as the Government speeds up the vaccine rollout to 500,000 jabs a day.