Update on Omicron

[Kb27]

Get your booster shots, don't wait for omicron specific vaccine...

 

Pfizer says booster dose of vaccine protects against omicron variant

A booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine appears to provide strong protection against the omicron variant, the companies announced Wednesday.

They said lab study results show a third dose of their vaccine provides a similar level of neutralizing antibodies to omicron, comparable to two doses against the original coronavirus and other variants that have emerged.

Blood samples from those who received only the primary series of the vaccine, on average, did see a 25-fold drop in antibodies against the new variant. That may indicate that two doses of the vaccine may not be sufficient to protect against infection with omicron, the companies said.

As the highly mutated omicron variant, first identified in South Africa, spreads around the globe, scientists are racing to determine how the available vaccines will work against it.

The companies said the results are preliminary. The findings were detailed in a press release, and the full data have not yet been made available for other scientists to scrutinize.

But lab studies are only one piece of the puzzle. Other data are also needed to determine whether a new vaccine is needed. Scientists need to understand transmissible the omicron variant is (early indications suggest it's more contagious than the delta variant) as well as how sick it makes people (early data suggests the illness caused by the variant is milder).

The results from Pfizer-BioNTech are the first announced by vaccine makers.

According to the news release, blood samples were tested from people who had received either two or three doses of the vaccine. The samples were collected three weeks after the second dose or one month after the booster.

Tuesday, a South Africa research institute also released lab results on how the Pfizer vaccine fared against omicron, showing about a fortyfold reduction in vaccine-induced antibodies that could neutralize the new variant. That study didn't look at booster shots, however.

On Nov. 25, the vaccine companies started to develop an omicron-specific vaccine. First batches of the vaccine can be produced and ready for delivery in about 100 days, depending on authorization from federal regulators, Pfizer has said.

Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are expected to release lab results from the omicron variant in the coming days. Academic research institutions are also looking into how well the vaccine works against omicron.

[Beregond]

Saw a report. Mention got a new type of omicron come out liao😅

[Tohto]

Just hope all the new variant getting less and less severe and slowly die off like a normal flu.

[Wt_know]

8 minutes ago, Tohto said:

Just hope all the new variant getting less and less severe and slowly die off like a normal flu.

scientist theory is the virus will mutate until “non severe” and just another flu that exist for years

like that why not let AIDS mutate until no scare?  

[Kb27]

Israeli study finds Pfizer COVID-19 booster protects against Omicron

Sun, December 12, 2021, 4:41 AM

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli researchers said on Saturday they found that a three-shot course of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine provided significant protection against the new Omicron variant.

The findings were similar to those presented by BioNTech and Pfizer earlier in the week, which were an early signal that booster shots could be key to protect against infection from the newly identified variant.

The study, carried out by Sheba Medical Center and the Health Ministry's Central Virology Laboratory, compared the blood of 20 people who had received two vaccine doses 5-6 months earlier to the same number of individuals who had received a booster a month before.

"People who received the second dose 5 or 6 months ago do not have any neutralization ability against the Omicron. While they do have some against the Delta (strain)," Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the Infectious Diseases Unit at Sheba, told reporters.

"The good news is that with the booster dose it increases about a hundred fold. There is a significant protection of the booster dose. It is lower than the neutralization ability against the Delta, about four times lower," she said.

The Israeli team said they worked with the actual virus while the companies used what is known as a pseudovirus, which was bio-engineered to have the hallmark mutations of Omicron.

The Israeli research follows a study from South Africa that found the Omicron variant can partially evade protection from two doses.

[Kb27]

First person dies from Omicron variant in UK

LONDON (Reuters) -At least one person has died in the United Kingdom after contracting the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, warning that the variant now accounted for 40% of infections in the British capital.

Since the first Omicron cases were detected on Nov. 27 in the United Kingdom, Johnson has imposed tougher restrictions and on Sunday he urged people to get booster shots to prevent the health service from being overwhelmed.

Visiting a vaccination centre in London, Johnson congratulated those getting shots and handed out stickers before telling reporters that a patient had died from Omicron which he said could overcome those inoculated with two shots.

"Sadly at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with Omicron," Johnson said.

"So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus - I think that's something we need to set on one side - and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population."

Asked repeatedly if he could rule out tougher restrictions in England before Christmas, Johnson meandered away from giving a direct answer.

Johnson said there was a spike in Omicron cases in London, with Health Secretary Sajid Javid saying the variant was spreading at a "phenomenal rate".

Johnson, who is grappling with a rebellion in his party over measures to curb Omicron and an outcry over parties at his Downing Street office during last year's lockdowns, said people should rush to get booster vaccines to protect "our freedoms and our way of life".

[Jamesc]

77 countries confirmed.

But more in reality.

[Voodooman]

Omicron has been in South Africa for weeks if not months and looks milder than Delta but with reported past infection rate of 72% at Gauteng, the epicenter of the outbreak, what is mild may not be so for the unvax and or Covid virgin with waning immunity.  Lots of Brits are lining up to get their boosters, crashing the NHS servers.

Will be interesting to see if those who are kbkp-ing about third dose will hold out and take on the omicron risk, which will be all over us very soon. 

That is always the tricky part, risk and benefits. Noone likes to get jabbed if possible but sometimes bo bian. People talk big when the risk is low but change their mind when faced with clear and present danger. 

Hope to see clear data that unvax (with no past infection) will do well against Omicron and I think that could really be the beginning of the end of the pandemic (just being optimistic). 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/14/south-africa-previous-infections-may-explain-omicron-hospitalisation-rate

Edited December 15, 2021 by Voodooman

[inlinesix]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-15/sinovac-shot-gives-no-shield-for-omicron-hong-kong-study-finds

Sinovac Provides Inadequate Shield Against Omicron in Hong Kong Study

• Effect of a third dose of Sinovac’s vaccine remains to be seen
• Chinese shot is one of the most widely used globally

Good luck to those who had SINOVAC.

[Ender]

With Pfizer, it seems like more will go to hospital, how can it be mild?  But then  I heard another side fro the SA doctor, it's so mild that those detected in hospital where not there for covid symptoms, but for other ailment. Routine test postive, meanaing  they are aymptomatic.,

 

[Voodooman]

2 hours ago, Ender said:

With Pfizer, it seems like more will go to hospital, how can it be mild?  But then  I heard another side fro the SA doctor, it's so mild that those detected in hospital where not there for covid symptoms, but for other ailment. Routine test postive, meanaing  they are aymptomatic.,

 

The drop from 93% to 70% for hospitalisation risk implies less protection and could reflect smaller difference between vax and unvax,  which could be attributed to the mild symptoms of Omicron. I wonder how it is measured and derived at? Pfizer is motivated to get people to boost.

https://amp.ft.com/content/3c27c135-fdbc-4db7-8c7c-6e1f6c386235

Also, 70% protection against hospitalisation means 30% will be hospitalised (for those vaccinated)?  

Denmark (highly vaccinated) showed just 1% hospitalisation rate (37/3437 = 1.1.%) on a small sample.

Denmark has recorded 3,437 Omicron cases, authorities said on Monday, close to a doubling in the past two days. About 9 per cent of those infected with Omicron had received three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, 75 per cent two doses, while 14 per cent were unvaccinated.

Thirty-seven people have been admitted to hospital with the variant in Denmark, with 28 of those testing positive before hospital admission or immediately afterwards and eight who were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive some days later. This is in stark contrast to admissions with other variants, where the vast majority of patients tested positive before admission, suggesting that a significant number of patients in the Omicron wave may test positive for Covid even if they are not being treated for it.

[Blueray]

Omicron thrives in airways, not lungs; new data on asymptomatic cases

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/omicron-thrives-airways-not-lungs-new-data-asymptomatic-cases-2382791

[inlinesix]

1 minute ago, Blueray said:

Omicron thrives in airways, not lungs; new data on asymptomatic cases

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/omicron-thrives-airways-not-lungs-new-data-asymptomatic-cases-2382791

Face mask is still the best Vaccine

[Ender]

22 minutes ago, Voodooman said:

The drop from 93% to 70% for hospitalisation risk implies less protection and could reflect smaller difference between vax and unvax,  which could be attributed to the mild symptoms of Omicron. I wonder how it is measured and derived at? Pfizer is motivated to get people to boost.

https://amp.ft.com/content/3c27c135-fdbc-4db7-8c7c-6e1f6c386235

Also, 70% protection against hospitalisation means 30% will be hospitalised (for those vaccinated)?  

Denmark (highly vaccinated) showed just 1% hospitalisation rate (37/3437 = 1.1.%) on a small sample.

Denmark has recorded 3,437 Omicron cases, authorities said on Monday, close to a doubling in the past two days. About 9 per cent of those infected with Omicron had received three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, 75 per cent two doses, while 14 per cent were unvaccinated.

Thirty-seven people have been admitted to hospital with the variant in Denmark, with 28 of those testing positive before hospital admission or immediately afterwards and eight who were admitted for other reasons and then tested positive some days later. This is in stark contrast to admissions with other variants, where the vast majority of patients tested positive before admission, suggesting that a significant number of patients in the Omicron wave may test positive for Covid even if they are not being treated for it.

Ah right lesser difference detween the vax and nonvax.. But not neccassry mean mild or severe.

Efficacy is comparison vax kenna rate vs unvax kenna rate..   suppose equal sample for vax and unvax.  vax is 70% lesser Suppose got 10 unvax hospitalised  there will be vax hospitalised.

 

[inlinesix]

24 minutes ago, Ender said:

Ah right lesser difference detween the vax and nonvax.. But not neccassry mean mild or severe.

Efficacy is comparison vax kenna rate vs unvax kenna rate..   suppose equal sample for vax and unvax.  vax is 70% lesser Suppose got 10 unvax hospitalised  there will be vax hospitalised.

In terms of infection rate, vaccines cannot protect airway or nasal passage.

What's more important now is whether it is a mild infection or not.

[Ender]

6 minutes ago, inlinesix said:

In terms of infection rate, vaccines cannot protect airway or nasal passage.

What's more important now is whether it is a mild infection or not.

Hope time will tell us sooner that is mild, or not.. Waiting to see the next country that spiking high, like SA's fourth wave.

[Ender]

34 minutes ago, Ender said:

Ah right lesser difference detween the vax and nonvax.. But not neccassry mean mild or severe.

Efficacy is comparison vax kenna rate vs unvax kenna rate..   suppose equal sample for vax and unvax.  vax is 70% lesser Suppose got 10 unvax hospitalised  there will be vax hospitalised.

 

Correction,

vax is 70% lesser Suppose got 10 unvax hospitalised  there will be 3 vaxxed hospitalised.

[Kb27]

1 hour ago, inlinesix said:

Face mask is still the best Vaccine

The first protective barrier from pathogen is the physical barrier - our skin.  And the mouth, nose, eyes. That means be careful when you get a cut. 

1.  Wash hands

2. Mask up

3. Social distancing.

In case anyone forget these basic rules.