Pfizer and BioNTech have stated that their coronavirus vaccination provides protection against the new Omicron variant.
According to the pharmaceutical companies, three doses give the same level of Omicron antibodies as two doses against other variants.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had previously stated that vaccines should still be effective against severe Omicron infections.
Omicron is the subject of hundreds of studies globally. It’s the most mutated form of coronavirus discovered thus far. On Wednesday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said that a third jab would improve protection against the variant.
However, Pfizer and BioNTech claimed that the findings were preliminary, and further study would be done.
They also stated that they were working on an Omicron-specific vaccination that would be available for distribution in 100 days, pending regulatory clearance.
Another research, this one from South Africa and funded by Pfizer/BioNTech, found that the vaccine might produce significantly fewer neutralizing antibodies against Omicron than there were against Covid.
Although Pfizer’s/BioNTech claimed that a third dose boosted those antibodies by a factor of 25, making the level of protection comparable to that of two doses against other antigens.
Several studies have recently shown that Omicron is superior than other variants when it comes to evading parts of the immune system. The research has been focused on removing antibodies that attach to the virus and preventing it from infecting our cells.
This might result in the infection spreading more quickly, but it’s too soon to tell how likely that is to happen. There are indications that a third dose or a combination of past infections and vaccines would decrease the danger.
The vaccines, on the other hand, are still highly likely to provide protection against severe disease because they train a much broader range of the immune system than simply antibody neutralization.
T-cells, which are better at combating variants once an infection has begun, are more effective at dealing with anomalies. However, even if it is minor for most people, a large and abrupt Omicron surge may still be harmful.
If, as expected, a few of the individuals who will contract severe Covid get struck with Omicron at the same moment, hospitals could once again be put under strain.
There is no longer any data on how the Moderna, Johnson & Johnston, and other vaccines compare to the new variant.
There is no indication that Omicron will be more resistant to vaccines than other variants, according to the WHO’s emergencies director Mike Ryan.
In South Africa, the disease was initially identified, and there is now a rise in people getting it several times.
The spokesman for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters that preliminary findings indicate that the Omicron strain may be more transmissible than the current Delta strain.
However, the severity of Omicron’s disease-causing potential is still under study.
According to the WHO’s Dr. Ryan, early data revealed that Omicron does not make patients sicker than Delta and other strains, but it does suggest less severe illness.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the US National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said early findings indicate that Omicron may be more transmissible but less severe.
According to statistics from Johns Hopkins University, since the outbreak began, there have been over 267 million cases of coronavirus and more than 5 million fatalities worldwide.