A new study that assessed the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine versus the Omicron variation indicates that 3 doses might use an enough level of protection from disease brought on by the Omicron version.
The internationally circulating SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) Omicron (B. 1.1.529) has a great deal of mutations, specifically in the spike protein, suggesting that acknowledgment by neutralizing antibodies may be compromised. Alexander Muik and colleagues checked Wuhan, Beta, Delta, or Omicron pseudoviruses with sera of 51 individuals that got two or three dosages of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2.
By American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
January 18, 2022.
Following two dosages, sera had more than 22-fold lowered reducing the effects of titers versus Omicron compared to Wuhan pseudovirus. One month after the third vaccine dose, Omicron-neutralizing titers were increased 23-fold compared to 2 doses, with titers similar to Wuhan-neutralizing titers after two dosages.
The data recommend “a third dose of BNT162b2 augments antibody-based resistance versus Omicron, in line with previous observations that a third vaccination widens humoral immune reactions versus VOCs,” say the authors.
” Further clinical trial and real-world data will quickly emerge to resolve the efficiency of a third dose with BNT162b2 versus COVID-19 mediated by Omicron,” they conclude.
Referral: “Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine-elicited human sera” 18 January 2022, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.abn7591.