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Investigations into the new CoV variant Omicron and the effectiveness of existing vaccines are in full swing. Much of it has been studied in the laboratory. Friday night, the results of a British analysis based on 581 people with confirmed Omicron variant became known: According to the results, only a third booster vaccination provides protection against disease with omicron.
According to the U.K. health authority, infected individuals with two doses of the vaccines from AstraZeneca, as well as Pfizer and Biontech, showed significantly less protection against symptomatic infections than against the delta variant currently still prevalent in Austria.
For this study, data from 581 omicron cases and thousands of delta cases were analyzed to calculate the vaccines’ efficacy against the new variant. The decline in efficacy was particularly sharp for the AstraZeneca vaccine, BBC reported, citing the study. But Pfizer and Biontech’s vaccine also showed a significant drop, it said.
70 to 75 percent protection with booster
However, the study also found that after booster vaccination with the Biontech and Pfizer vaccine, there was about 70 to 75 percent protection against symptomatic infection – regardless of which vaccine the person originally received. In addition, the agency expects that the vaccines are still likely to provide good protection against severe illness that can prevent hospitalization.
This was also seen in seven Germans who were infected with the omicron variant even despite booster vaccination. They did not have severe courses. One can already “assume that at least a severe course is prevented,” says Wolfgang Preiser of the South African Stellenbosch University on the effect of vaccinations against Omicron.
Booster “already useful after three months”
According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), booster vaccinations may well be given after three months. Biontech founder Ugur Sahin had argued for an earlier third vaccination in light of the spread of the Omicron variant. “Looking at Omicron, two doses is not yet a completed vaccination with sufficient protection. If omicron continues to spread, as it looks like it will, it would make scientific sense to offer a booster after just three months,” Sahin told Der Spiegel. This is already the case in Great Britain.
Currently, the UK is seeing a sharp increase in cases. On Friday, the number of new infections reached 58,194 new cases, the highest level since January 9. In London, the Omicron variant accounts for 30 percent of those with the disease, according to an estimate by Michael Gove, the minister for local government. The health department expects Omicron to account for half of all cases in the country by mid-December and, if growth continues, could reach the one million mark by the end of the month.
“These early estimates should be taken with caution, but they suggest that a few months after the second vaccination, there is a higher risk of contracting the Omicron variant than the Delta strain,” said Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at the U.K. Department of Health.
Tightening up in the U.K.
Policymakers responded by expanding mandatory masking. Since Friday, mouth-to-nose protection must again be worn in theaters, churches, museums and cinemas. From Wednesday, a vaccination certificate or a negative CoV test will be mandatory for major events. The measures, however, have met with sharp criticism in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party. Several dozen MPs have already announced they will vote against the rules in Parliament on Tuesday. They fear dire consequences for the economy and accuse Johnson of using the measures to distract attention from several scandals.
The number of omicron cases is also rising rapidly in South Africa. According to the Department of Health, new infections increased 400 percent week-over-week. The Omikron variant was behind 70 percent of the cases, it said.
Stricter quarantine rules in Vienna
In Austria, too, widespread closures after Christmas cannot be ruled out, because Omicron could also drive up the infection figures in this country and thus also the burden on hospitals. Vienna already laid down stricter rules for the occurrence of Omicron cases or suspected Omicron cases at schools and kindergartens. If there is a suspected or confirmed case of Omicron in a class, parts or the entire class must be quarantined as a close contact (K1) for 14 days.
In Salzburg, too, 14-day quarantine is being ordered more and more frequently due to the risk of Omicron spreading based on guidelines from the Ministry of Health. For Omicron infected persons as well as for their close contacts, a 14-day isolation applies. However, 14 days of isolation also applies again to contact persons of non-Omicron-infected persons from the same household – even if they are fully vaccinated.
- source: ORF.at/agencies/picture:pixabay.com
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