According to the research leader of a laboratory at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa, the Omicron version of the coronavirus can partially circumvent protection from two doses of Pfizer and partner BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Nonetheless, the study found that blood from patients who had received two doses of the vaccination and had previously been infected was able to neutralise the variation in the majority of cases, suggesting that booster doses of the vaccine could assist to prevent infection.
Alex Sigal, a professor at the Africa Health Research Institute, said on Twitter there was “a very large drop” in neutralization of the Omicron variant relative to an earlier strain of COVID-19.
The lab tested blood from 12 people who had been vaccinated with two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, according to a manuscript posted on the website for his lab. The preliminary data in the manuscript has not yet been peer reviewed.
Blood from five out of six people who had been vaccinated as well as previously infected with COVID-19 still neutralized the Omicron variant, the manuscript said.
“These outcomes are even better than I had hoped for.” “The more antibodies you have, the better your chances of being protected from Omicron,” Sigal tweeted.
Because booster doses are not currently accessible in South Africa, he said the lab had not tested the variant against blood from patients who have had one.
According to the manuscript, the lab observed a 41-fold decline in levels of neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant.
Sigal said on Twitter that figure is likely to be adjusted after his lab does more experiments.
While neutralizing antibodies are an indicator of the body’s immune response, scientists believe other kinds of cells such as B-cells and T-cells also are stimulated by the vaccines and help protect against the effects of the coronavirus.
Preliminary evidence does not suggest that the vaccination is less effective in preventing serious illness or death. “We think it’s likely that people will have great protection against serious sickness caused by Omicron,” BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin stated last week, although lab studies are ongoing.
The Omicron variant, first detected in southern Africa last month, has triggered alarms globally of another surge in infections, with more than two dozen countries from Japan to the United States reporting cases.
The World Health Organization classified it on Nov. 26 as a “variant of concern,” but said there was no evidence to support the need for new vaccines specifically designed to tackle the Omicron variant with its many mutations.
There is not significant data yet on how vaccines from Moderna (MRNA.O), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and other drugmakers hold up against the new variant. All the manufacturers, including Pfizer and BioNTech, are expected to release their own data within weeks.
BioNTech’s Sahin told NBC News on Tuesday that the drugmaker has data coming on Wednesday or Thursday related to the new variant.
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday that preliminary evidence indicates that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus likely has a higher degree of transmissibility but is less severe.
He said the US was doing its own tests to verify the vaccinations’ ability to protect against the variation and that results would be available next week.
Evercore ISI analyst Umer Raffat warned against reading too much into a single research, adding that past lab studies have shown significant inconsistency in assessing decreases in antibody levels.
“Let’s wait for more research before drawing a mosaic,” he remarked.