With an increasing number of countries easing restrictions and opening their borders in recent months, the Omicron variant has been a bit of a party pooper.
Instead of discussing which country to holiday in, we’re all talking about the potential consequences Omicron could have on our lives.
Citing an unusually high number of mutations, some believe that the Omicron variant, just like the Delta strain, could be more infectious.
The bigger concern, of course, is whether it’s deadlier, or whether it can break through the defences of our vaccines.
The good news is that we may have at least one vaccine that can keep Omicron at bay.
BioNTech & Pfizer Said 3 Shots of Their Vaccine Can Neutralise the Omicron Variant
Pfizer and BioNTech announced that a three-shot course of their COVID-19 vaccine can neutralise the Omicron variant.
In the lab test, researchers used the blood from people who had received their booster shot a month ago, and monitored its effects on the new variant, as well as how many neutralising antibodies it produced.
While the regular two-dose regimen resulted in significantly lower neutralising antibodies, a third dose increased the neutralising antibodies by 25 times.
BioNTech said the interval between the second and third dose can be shortened to three months, to better protect people from the Omicron variant.
Two Doses May Not Be Enough to Ward Off Omicron Variant
Some preliminary studies on the variant show that the Omicron variant can evade the defences of two-dose vaccine courses.
Data from studies in South Africa, for example, showed that two doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine were for the most part ineffective against the variant. Those who had infection prior to getting vaccinated had stronger immunity.
Results from studies in Germany tell a similar tale—that the variant can beat all the vaccines in Europe, but that a third dose provides some protection.
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Omicron May Become Dominant Variant, But That Could be a Good Thing
The Omicron variant does appear to be more infectious, especially if you see how quickly it spread in South Africa.
In South Africa, 92% of infections in October were caused by the Delta strain. But just the next month, it was the Omicron variant that became the dominant one, accounting for 74% of cases in the country.
But the one thing we don’t know for sure is whether it’s deadlier than previous iterations. In fact, the opposite could be true.
See, while the Omicron variant has spread quickly, all the cases (so far) have been mild or asymptomatic so far.
What’s more, no deaths from the new variant have been reported so far, as of 5 Dec.
Both Moderna, as well as Pfizer-BioNTech, have said they could develop an Omicron-based vaccine as early as next year. Considering how quickly they came up with the first one, it certainly isn’t beyond the realms of possibility.
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Featured Image: Siraj Ahmad / Shutterstock.com
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