Washington

According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vaccines were more effective at fighting the Delta variant in the United States than the Omicron variant while comparing the rate of hospitalisations among adults.

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The CDC found when the Omicron BA.2 and BA.2.12.1 subvariants were circulating in the country between March and May, hospitalisations increased among all adults with those over 65 hit the hardest, however, the total hospitalisations were much lower when the Delta variant surge was in progress last year. The US health agency found overall effectiveness decreased when the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants began circulating as hospitalisations among adults increased.

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The CDC found that those who had taken two booster doses performed better than others while fighting the BA.2 variant with the majority of those admitted in hospital suffering from some form of underlying condition.

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Watch: Omicron variant driving fresh COVID-19 outbreaks worldwide

The CDC said unvaccinated adults were three times more likely to be hospitalised. US regulators have now pushed vaccine makers to roll out Omicron-specific boosters next month as the country continues to battle against the virus over two years after it first appeared.

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The CDC report said along with the obvious advantage of vaccination and booster shots other pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical measures also made a key difference in fighting the virus including  Pfizer's antiviral drug Paxlovid, Gilead Sciences' remdesivir and AstraZeneca's Evusheld for immunocompromised people. 

(With inputs from Agencies)

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