The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been less effective in protecting against hospitalization following the emergency of the Omicron virus variant, according to a new study of real-world data from South Africa. The protection from the vaccine’s primary two-dose regimen has dropped to about 70 percent in recent weeks, according to Discovery Health, the largest private health insurance company in the country. That was down from 93 percent when the Delta was the dominant variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus in the country, Discovery scientists said Tuesday. The CCP virus causes COVID-19. The protection against hospitalization decreased even more for the elderly. It was estimated at 67 percent in people aged 60 to 69 and 60 percent for those 70 to 79. Pfizer and BioNTech did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Discovery’s analysis, which has not been peer-reviewed, was the first study that addressed whether vaccine-conferred protection would hold …