Covid: Case data, vaccine news mark small victories in Omicron battle

AstraZeneca, Novavax say their shots protect from Omicron * UK data suggests fewer hospitalisations than from Delta

Travellers wait for trains at the Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station ahead of the Christmas holiday, in New York City (Photo: Reuters)

Two vaccine makers said their shots protected against the Omicron coronavirus variant as UK data suggested it may cause proportionally fewer hospital cases than the Delta strain, though public health experts warned the battle against COVID-19 was far from over.

Similar encouraging evidence about hospitalisation rates had emerged from South Africa on Wednesday, but the head of Africa's main public health agency joined the World Health Organization in cautioning that it was too soon to draw broad conclusions