COVID-19 update: Omicron may be no worse than earlier variants, Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine does offer some protection

Some encouraging news on the Covid-19 front: Data on the new Omicron indicates that it is unlikely to be more severe than previous variants, says World Health Organisation (WHO) emergencies director Michael Ryan.

The AFP reports Mr Ryan as saying on Tuesday, “In fact, if anything, the direction is towards less severity,” though he emphasised that more research was needed to determine how severely Omicron would affect people.

The WHO labelled Omicron as a variant of concern on Nov 26.

The new variant had scientists on the alert late last month because of the unusually large number of mutations Omicron has, which it is thought could reduce the effectiveness of existing Covid vaccines.

Omicron, thought to be much more transmissible than earlier variants, prompted countries to pre-emptively close their borders again, sparked fears of fresh lockdowns.

In related news, the research head of a laboratory at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa said on Tuesday that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus responsible for the ongoing pandemic is able to partially evade two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

But Dr Alex Sigal, who heads the first study to take a direct look at how Omicron might impact people already vaccinated, says those who have recovered from Covid and those who have been vaccinated are likely to have strong protection against Omicron, as are those who have received booster jabs.

In medical jargon,

”There is a very large drop in neutralization of Omicron by BNT162b2 [Pfizer/BioNTech] immunity relative to ancestral virus,” he tweeted. “Omicron escape from BNT162b2 neutralization is incomplete. Previous infection + vaccination still neutralizes.”

There are a few results:
1. Omicron still uses ACE2
2. There is a very large drop in neutralization of Omicron by BNT162b2 immunity relative to ancestral virus
3. Omicron escape from BNT162b2 neutralization is incomplete. Previous infection + vaccination still neutralizes

— Alex Sigal (@sigallab) December 7, 2021

Dr Sigal told CNN this was good news, as he had earlier feared that Omicron’s mutations would make it better able to evade vaccines.

“I thought this news was very positive. I expected worse …This is not a variant that has completely escaped. It certainly escapes. It is certainly bad. But it looks to me like there are ways of dealing with it.

“My impression is if you get a booster you are protected, especially against severe disease. It took a hit — a bigger hit than we have seen before — but it didn’t take it down to levels that are insubstantial,” he said.

South African scientists first reported the Omicron variant on Nov 25, and it’s now driving a surge of new infections in a fourth wave of the disease there.

Omicron is now known to be present in at least 24 countries, including Singapore.

Chief US presidential advisor Dr Anthony Fauci talked about the Omicron in a similar vein as the WHO, saying that it did not appear worse and could possibly be milder, although it is “clearly highly transmissible”. /TISG

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