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Although two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine may not be enough to prevent infection with the Omikron variant, the administration of the booster significantly increases this protection, British scientists recently reported. So the question is why the third dose can make so much difference. This was perfectly explained by an article on the BBC.
- Two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are not enough to prevent infection with the Omikron variant, but a booster dose gives up to 75%. protection, British scientists recently reported
- However, researchers emphasize that vaccines should significantly reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and thus hospitalization
- Why does the third change so much? – Each dose of vaccine triggers another stage in the evolution of antibodies in the immune system. As time goes on, antibodies become better suited and become more advanced in fighting the pathogen, explains the BBC
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage.
Booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines in the fight against Omikron
Will the current COVID-19 vaccines be effective against the Omikron mutation? This is one of the most important questions that arose upon the discovery of this super-variant. When Omikron arrived in South Africa, only 30 percent were vaccinated. inhabitants of this country. This made it difficult to determine the effectiveness of vaccines against the new mutation. Scientists from vaccine companies and academic laboratories quickly began laboratory research.
The experiments showed that the antibodies from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were significantly less effective at suppressing the Omicron than the earlier variants. However, what is important – after receiving a booster dose, people produced a much higher level of antibodies, which were better for fighting the superwariant. Similar conclusions were drawn from early epidemiological studies. At the same time, scientists emphasized that vaccines should significantly reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and thus hospitalization.
A few days ago, the British Health Safety Agency published its research. The analysis, which was based on data on 581 confirmed cases of infection with the Omikron variant, showed that AstraZeneki and Pfizer / BioNtech vaccines provided “significantly lower levels of protection against symptomatic infection compared to the protection provided against the Delta variant”. Importantly, however, “preliminary data showed that efficacy against the new variant appears to increase significantly early after the booster, providing around 70-75% of the boost. protection against symptomatic infection ». In a word, the protection we gain after the third dose seems to be greater and more durable than the previous ones.
Why does the third change so much? This was perfectly explained by James Gallagher in an article published on the BBC website.
Vaccinations against COVID-19. How do the doses work on the body?
Let’s start with the most important thing: our immune system, namely our antibodies, is still learning how to fight SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines provide them with a safe environment in which to hone this skill.
«The first dose is education at primary school level. The second and third doses are comparable to sending the immune system to high school and then to university to radically deepen the acquired skills, »the BBC reads. «It is not only the constant repetition of elementary school knowledge». – The immune system has a richer knowledge and better understanding of the virus – explains Prof. Jonathan Ball, virologist at the University of Nottingham. The scientist emphasizes that a well-trained immune system is an “extremely difficult and hostile environment” for the virus and its variants.
As already mentioned, antibodies play a key role. «These are sticky proteins that stick to the coronavirus. Neutralizing antibodies can seal the pathogen, preventing it from attacking your cells. Others act as the biological equivalent of a flashing neon sign that says’ kill this virus’, ‘explains the BBC. Meanwhile, a series of laboratory studies and real-world data showed that the neutralizing antibodies we gained from two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were significantly less effective against the supernariant Omikron, so it was necessary to “go back to school”, ie administer another dose.
Do you want to test your COVID-19 immunity after vaccination? Have you been infected and want to check your antibody levels? See the COVID-19 immunity test package, which you will perform at Diagnostics network points.
Vaccinations against COVID-19. What does the third dose give us?
Each dose of vaccine triggers another stage in the evolution of antibodies in the immune system. Over time, they are better suited and become more and more advanced in fighting the pathogen. If the antibodies are able to bind more strongly to the coronavirus, it will be more difficult for the Omikron mutation to break free from it. Let’s also not forget that while the new variant has so many mutations (about 50), it also contains elements common to the previous variants. So it is not a completely new creation.
- Delta and Omikron. Scientists point to the most important differences
However, it is not only about the quality of the antibodies, but also their quantity – this in turn increases with the administration of the vaccine booster. In a word, each dose of the vaccine (but also each infection) gives our body more tools to track down the pathogen.
Finally, we cite important words of prof. Charles Bangham of the Infectious Diseases Clinic of Imperial College London. – Virus immunity is almost never absolute – you can almost always get reinfected. However, our goal is to make re-contamination so trivial that you won’t know you have it or be very mild, he told the BBC.
You may be interested in:
- Expert: Mandatory vaccinations for medics? It should come in summer, it’s too late now
- Converted anti-vaccine: get vaccinated, COVID-19 is hell
- Atypical symptom of the Omikron variant in children. The doctor noticed him
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