A new study found that people who got COVID-19 vaccines don't have many antibodies against the Omicron virus variant.
Following the use of blood samples from participants who got two doses of either the Oxford AztraZeneca or the Pfized-BioNTech jab, Oxford University researchers found a decline in "neutralizing antibodies," with indications that some individuals had no such antibodies at all, The Epoch Times reported.
Those who have been previously sick or who have been vaccinated twice may be more susceptible to new infections, which might lead to a new wave of infections. As stated in the preprint study, "This will likely lead to increased breakthrough infections in previously infected or double vaccinated individuals, which could drive a further wave of infection."
Based on their test, the authors concluded that Omicron is a more different strain of SARS-CoV-2 than beta and delta. Consequently, people who have already been exposed or who have had two doses of the vaccine may get new infections, which might set off another wave of infection.
However, it says that there is no evidence to suggest that this would raise the risk of serious illness that would need hospitalization or even death.
Other parts of the immune system, it added, including non-neutralizing antibodies and cellular immunity, are likely to be less affected and may provide some protection against hospitalization and severe illness.
However, the research found that even if the severity of the disease does not change, increasing transmission would lead to a rise in the number of cases and a larger strain on health care systems.
"The immune escape reported here may lead Omicron to displace Delta to become the dominant strain worldwide. If this were to occur it may be necessary to produce vaccines tailored to Omicron, however, because of the antigenic distance of Omicron, these might be unlikely to give protection against previous strains. This may stimulate consideration of a switch from the current monovalent vaccine strategy towards multivalent formulations currently used in seasonal influenza vaccines," the authors said.
The Epoch Times, on the other hand, observed that early studies, including one conducted by Pfizer and a collaborator, indicate that initial immunization regimens have a much lesser impact on COVID-19 infection prevention.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, "Although different methodologies and types of selected sera have been used, these results consistently show a reduced neutralization capacity of sera from vaccine recipients and convalescent sera against the Omicron virus as compared to other SARS-CoV-2 variants."
Other studies, in support of boosters, said that natural immunity, or the resistance that comes with recovery, may not be as effective in protecting against Omicron infection as previously thought. However, the decline in protection has not been as significant.
"Much more important, though, is protection against severe disease, since many COVID-19 cases are detected with no or mild symptoms," wrote The Epoch Times correspondent Zachary Stieber while maintaining that "antibodies are the primary measure of protection against infection."
