https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/07/health/omicron-variant-pfizer-vaccine-south-africa-study/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_content=2021-12-08T00%3A46%3A04 -

CNN)The Omicron coronavirus variant partly escapes the protection offered by the Pfizer vaccine, but people who have been previously infected and then vaccinated are likely to be well protected, researchers working in South Africa reported Tuesday.

Boosters are also likely to protect people, Alex Sigal of the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, who led the study team, told CNN.

Tests in lab dishes using samples from 12 people who had been fully vaccinated with Pfizer's vaccine showed the Omicron variant could evade the immune protection built by the vaccine -- but not completely.