Fauci says omicron-specific vaccines may not be needed; new research indicates T-cell protection may hold the variant

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Fri, 2021-12-10 17:23 — mike kraft

Fauci says omicron-specific vaccines may not be needed, while new research indicates T-cell protection may hold up against the variant It’s becoming clear that much of the concern about the omicron variant has to do with how much it will reduce the protection provided by the COVID-19 vaccines. Jaimy Lee MarketWatch

It’s becoming clear that much of the concern about the omicron variant has to do with how much it will cut into the protection provided by the COVID-19 vaccines.

New details about omicron have emerged this week that indicate the variant may not cause more severe disease but is likely much more infectious than the delta variant. This means that even those who are fully vaccinated may be at higher risk for contracting this variant than other forms of the virus.

With little science to go on right now, there has been a wide range of responses to the few details we have so far about omicron.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla this week said a fourth dose of its COVID-19 vaccine could be needed, within a year of getting the third shot. A headline in The Atlantic says “The pandemic of the vaccinated is here.” And this is why health officials continue to push people who are fully vaccinated to get a booster shot of any COVID-19 vaccine. (Teens who are 16 and 17 years old can now get BioNTech BNTX, -9.33% and Pfizer’s PFE, +1.34% booster.)

“Although we don’t have all the answers on the omicron variant, initial data suggests that COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen the protection against omicron and other variants,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement on Thursday.

Vaccines and natural infection can create immunity through different avenues, including T-cells and antibodies. The worry has been that omicron might be able to evade these protective antibodies.

However, new research says that people who have generated a T-cell response through COVID-19 vaccination or infection may still be protected against omicron, though it’s unclear to what degree, according to a new preprint, which is preliminary medical research that has not been peer-reviewed. ...

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