The omicron coronaviruses variant has spread rapidly around the world, with fully vaccined people increasingly reporting Covid-19 infections and governments increasing booster campaigns to control the outbreak, but with evidence mounting that protection from booster shots also waned, how well do vaccines protect against the virus?
How well do vaccines protect against omicron?
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The omicron variant of the Covid-19 vaccine offers little protection against symptoms compared to the delta strain, according to researchers.
Professor Deepta Bhattacharya of the University of Arizona told Forbes that early indications are that a third dose will not restore protection.
The European Medicines Agency warned that frequent boosting is not a sustainable long-term strategy after Israel became the first country to roll out a fourth shot.
The most important thing we need the vaccines to do is protect against serious illness, hospitalization and death, which early data shows is the case for vaccine-vaccinated people.
Specific shots. The Covid-19 vaccines are being developed by many vaccine makers. Pfizer and Moderna said their shots could be ready in March.
Experts believe that omicron's ability to evade immune defenses of people who have already been exposed allowed it to quickly overtake other versions and spread across the globe. The delta variant was able to spread quickly because it caused people to give off larger amounts of virus. The researchers at Imperial College London found that the risk of reinfection with omicron was more than twice as high as with delta, with the protection from past infections falling to just under 20%. The World Health Organization warned that the unvaccinated will be hit hardest, but experts and health agencies say the vaccine is still the best protection against omicron. Unvaccinated people are more likely to be hospitalized and die than their vaccine counterparts according to data from around the world.
We don't know what we don't know.
The vaccine that is most effective against omicron. The levels of neutralizing antibodies in the blood of trial participants have been analyzed by vaccine makers. The shots give an incomplete picture of immunity, but they are an indicator of how well the shots protect against infections. The shots seem to be doing a bit better than the others, according to Bhattacharya. The current vaccines are able to prevent serious disease when it comes to omicron, according to Dr. Amesh Adalja.
The quote is crucial.
The vaccines aren't magic forcefields or bug zappers. They're meant to make amild infections. The vaccine will prevent you from getting severe illness from Covid-19.
The number is big.
There was 9.7 billion. According to the data from the University, there have been at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine administered around the world. According to data from Airfinity, at least 11 billion doses have been delivered around the world. Lab studies suggest that Sinovac and Sinopharm have no protection against omicron infections. A third booster dose of Sinovac and Sinopharm shots may not be able to raise the levels of antibodies which can help prevent the virus infecting cells, high enough to protect against omicron, though a different kind of vaccine could help.
What is next for COVID's viral evolution?
Covid-19 vaccine makers plan to tackle Omicron.
An Israeli researcher says the 4th vaccine shot likely isn't good enough to protect against Omicron.
Live updates on the coronaviruses.
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