One of the first laboratory studies into the matter has shown that the Omicron variant of coronaviruses can partially evade the protection of vaccines and previous infections.
The findings suggest that boosting the immune system can compensate for the fact that the vaccine is less well matched to Omicron than to earlier versions of the virus. The findings strongly supported the idea that booster vaccinations would be effective.
The executive director of the Africa Health Research Institute said that it was likely that less vaccine-induced protection against infections would be the result. Most vaccinologists agree that the current vaccines will still protect against Omicron infections. Everyone should bevaccinated.
The data has not been peer-reviewed and is among the first to be released about the ability of our immune system to fight Omicron. The scientists compared the response of the Omicron variant to the response of the early strain of coronaviruses, and found that blood from 12 people who had received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was able to neutralise the Omicron variant. South Africa had a first wave of infections.
