Study: Vaccinated And Previously Infected Might Have 'Stronger Than Basic' Protection Against Omicron

According to the findings of a recent research study, it was suggested that  people who have been previously infected with Covid-19 and those fully vaccinated will have 'stronger than basic' protection against the Omicron variant of Coronavirus. It has been published by the 'Emerging Microbes & Infection Journal'. We are seeing a huge spike in Covid-19 cases of Omicron in India. And, the situation is almost getting out of hands in the UK, because of the new strain. Experts and medical professionals are developing new details about Omicron variant everyday. Read further to know more about the reaserch.

The findings of the study also suggested that although a third-dose boostinh strategy can "significantly boost immunity," the defence against Omicron "might be compromised" - however, more research is required to understand this in a better way. But, the test tube (or 'in-vitro', scientifically) samples of Omicron strain observed in this new research did not prove that it "exceeds" all other variants in its potential ability to weaken the protection gained from previous infection or vaccination.

Lead author of the early study, Youchun Wang, Senior Research Fellow from the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control in China, said, "We found a large number of mutations of the Omicron variant did cause significant changes of neutralization sensitivity against people who had already had Covid. However, the average ED50 (protection level) against Omicron is still higher than the baseline, which indicated there is still some protection effect can be observed."

Also read: Covid New Variant: 7 Things To Know About Omicron That Only An Expert Can Tell

He said the same because the antibody protection, be it in the form of previous infection or vaccination can reduce  eventually over a time period of six months. And, omicron "may be able to escape immunity even better." An expert team of 11 scientists examined 28 serum samples from patients recovering from the previous strain of SARS-CoV-2. They tested them against in-vitro Omicron samples, and four other strains that were  'of concern' by the World Health Organization (WHO) and two variants classified as  'of interest'.

"This study verifies the enhanced immune escape of Omicron variant, which sounds the alarm to the world and has important implications for the public health planning and the development of matching strategies," Wang summarized. Now, the research team has said that more intensive research is needed, not  just in-vitro but in real-world studies to better understand the Omicron variant. And, especially, whether it can defeat the vaccine immunity to cause severe disease and death.