Queensland declares detection of new mutation to the Omicron strain of COVID-19

Queensland may have detected a new mutation of the Omicron variant in a traveller who recently arrived from South Africa.

It's been dubbed a "world-first" sub-lineage of the Omicron, but tests will still need to be conducted before it can be confirmed or denied as a new strain.

The state's health minister Yvette D'ath also reported a second Omicron case, with an overseas arrival from Nigeria.

"I want to give a huge thank you to our forensic [and] scientific services, because it is their work ... with the international committee that has led to the ... reclassifying of Omicron into two lineages, and we have both of them here in Queensland," D'Ath said.

Meanwhile, the joint German and US companies Pfizer, BioNTech said on Wednesday that a three-shot course of its COVID-19 vaccine was able to neutralise the Omicron variant in laboratory tests.

In a statement, the companies said two doses had significantly lower neutralising antibodies, but would still be a protection against severe disease if the new variant is contracted.

Month-old blood samples taken after a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine showed that the Omicron variant was neutralised at the same effectiveness as two doses had been against the original virus.

"The first line of defence, with two doses of vaccination, might be compromised and three doses of vaccination are required to restore protection," BioNTech Chief Medical Officer Ozlem Tuereci said at a press conference.

It also understood that the companies are looking to upgrade their vaccines to target the Omicron variant specifically.

If needed, the companies say it will be able to deliver the new vaccine by March 2022.

Pfizer and BioNTech are the first COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to deliver an official update on the efficacy of their shot against the new variant.