Tests Show Omicron 'Incompletely Escapes' Pfizer Vaccine, But Booster Should Restore Effectiveness
- Daily Kos, Dec. 8, 2021.
New data from a pair of laboratory tests shows that the level of antibodies produced by the combination of the Pfizer/BioNTech and the omicron variant of COVID-19 is significantly reduced. However, those who have received a booster shot may enjoy about the same level of protection against omicron that those with the initial two-shot regime had against delta.
From its first detection, the number of genetic differences found in the omicron variant raised concerns that it would be more evasive of vaccines, as well as of antibodies produced through past infection. That suspicion seemed to be borne out in South Africa, where the number of people getting reinfected after previously being ill with a different variant appears to be much higher than at any point in the past.
That left the question of how much protection is being provided by vaccines. The number of people seeing “breakthrough” infections in South Africa is relatively low, but then, so is the vaccination rate. It was difficult to determine what level of protection is being provided to those who got a jab. Or two. Or three.
Overnight, tests in both South Africa and Germany show that the level of antibody expression against omicron is 37 to 41 times lower than against other variants. Even so, the level of antibodies produced is still high enough to have an impact, and those who have been fully vaccinated—especially those who are a few weeks past receiving a booster—can still expect to see a significant level of protection...
More,
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/12/8/2068179/-Early-results-show-that-omicron-significantly-reduces-vaccine-effectiveness-but-booster-should-work
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*Also: 'Omicron will be bad. Very bad. Unless you're triple vaxxed or sick once, shot twice. (w poll),'
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/12/8/2068196/-Omicron-will-be-bad-Very-bad-Unless-you-are-triple-vaccinated-or-sick-once-shot-twice-w-poll
- *COMMENTS, Select of 229: (& where can I get a 4th shot? lol).
- No. Get a booster immediately. That’s the bottom line, unless you’re able to stay in the house alone all winter.
- N95s (and KN95s) are available online or at Lowe's and Home Depot among other places. I use the plain white foldable, or RespoKare N95s that have a blue antiviral top layer that kills at least 18 flu viruses.
- Reuters recently reported on an interesting new study that combining different vaccines appears to have a greater immune-boosting benefit. www.reuters.com/...
- That makes sense — it might trigger additional pathways. Since I got Moderna in the first place, it probably hasn’t waned much, so I could wait, but just to be safe with Omicron coming and a serious surge in the Massachusetts infection rate (especially in less-vaccinated areas), I’m going to get the Janssen booster. Janssen with one shot was ridiculous — it was too weak, though it shows little waning — but as a booster seems quite promising.
BTW getting a booster nowadays is almost as hard as getting a shot last winter, when high demand and a low state allocation made it like the Hunger Games. Janssen is the least available booster; Pfizer and Moderna are everywhere but reservations are backed up. CVS and Walgreens only take reservations for two weeks out and they book each day’s rapidly when it opens up.
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- Employees at the Afrigen biotechnology company & Vaccine Hub facility, work in the manufacturing lab in Cape Town, on Oct. 05, 2021. - A South African biotech consortium is gearing up to make Africa's 1st homegrown messenger RNA jab against Covid-19 in a bid to overcome unequal access to inoculations & help the continent towards vaccine autonomy. Backed by the WHO, Cape Town-based Afrigen Biologics & Vaccines is leading the pilot project which will use reverse-engineering to try & get the formula from the Moderna mRNA vaccine.