Two-dose vaccines not enough to protect people from Omicron variant– study.
British scientists reveal that two-dose COVID-19 vaccine regimens do not induce enough neutralising antibodies against the Omicron coronavirus variant.
This is an indication that increased infections in those previously infected or vaccinated persons may be likely.
Researchers from the University of Oxford, published results on Monday from a study yet to be peer-reviewed.
They analysed blood samples from participants who were given doses from AstraZeneca-Oxford or Pfizer-BioNTech in a large study looking into the mixing of vaccines.
The results come a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that two shots would not be enough to contain Omicron, following findings from the UK health agency that boosters significantly restore protection against the variant.
The Oxford study said that there was no evidence yet that the lower level of infection-fighting antibodies against Omicron could lead to a higher risk of severe disease, hospitalisation or death in those who have got two doses of approved vaccines.
Matthew Snape, Oxford professor and co-author of the paper say “these data are important but are only one part of the picture.
“They only look at neutralising antibodies after the second dose but do not tell us about cellular immunity, and this will also be tested’’.
Also, a laboratory research had suggested that the Omicron variant can partially escape antibody immunity induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
