According to a new study, the infection caused by Omicron has led to better immune responses than booster shots given to vaccinated individuals. The Covid-19 vaccine maker teams from the University of Washington and BioNTech SE have posted results on bioRxiv, a preprint server, recently.
According to the findings, it is seen that most of the vaccinated people who have been affected by the Covid-19 virus possibly are not going to fall seriously ill from any other variant soon. However, this research still needs to be proved right by the evidence from the real world.
The latest study about Omicron
According to John Wherry, director and professor at the Institute of Immunology and also the one who reviewed the BioNTech study, medical professionals need to consider the impact of breakthrough infections similar to the other vaccine doses. It means that any person who was affected by Covid recently can wait before receiving a booster dose, as per the information in Business Standard.
However, to respond to all the findings, people must not seek out infections.
Omicron’s effect on China
Omicron continues to show its power across the world, especially in China, where the residents have gone through lockdown for 6-weeks. Being transmissible, Omicron is leading to waves of new covid variants very fast.
It has sufficient scope to mutate and spread as soon as nations cut off the limitations. A lot of regulators are thinking about updating the Covid vaccines for targeting Omicron in particular.
Joint research on Omicron-infected patients
Vir Biotechnology and the Washington Research came together and looked at the blood samples of the infected individuals and are focusing on research to find out the effectiveness of vaccines and boosters.
A study showed that vaccinated people who had been affected by Omicron had powerful antibodies that overpowered others. They were powerful enough to recognize and attack the delta variant as well.
The University of Washington’s assistant professor, David Veesler, said to the journalists of Business Standard that a different vaccine might be considered for boosting people. Besides, antibodies were identified in the patients’ nasal mucous, which helped them neutralize the virus fast as soon as it entered the body.
Immunity response from valuable B-cells
A survey report published in Business Standard says that BioNTech found out that people who had Omicron infection had a better response from B-Cells compared to the ones who had a booster dose. B-Cells produce fresh antibodies helping the body to fight the deadly virus.
The unvaccinated people who had Omicron did not have a broad response. And this can be a potential problem if any new variant emerges soon.
No one can ensure that the future variants will be mild like Omicron. And the future of the pandemic is difficult to predict because it depends on the population’s immunity and the way the virus mutates.
Whatever the outcome is, people need to stay prepared. The safety protocols still need to be constantly maintained. People must not stop wearing masks, must maintain social distance, and need to wash their hands frequently. Covid-19 is not fully gone, and if unnoticed, it may pose a massive threat to humankind in the upcoming days.
