WASHINGTON: Omicron can avoid the protection of the immunity given by Covid-19 vaccines and natural infections, according to peer-reviewed studies which also show that the new Coronavirus variant is fully resistant to the current antibody therapy.
This study, published in the journal Nature on Thursday, also highlights the need for new vaccines and treatments that anticipate how the SARS-COV-2 virus can soon evolve.
Researchers from Columbia University in the US and the University of Hong Kong noted that the striking feature of Omicron is the number of alarming changes in a variant surge protein which can pose a threat to the effectiveness of current vaccines and therapeutic antibodies.
This study tested the antibody skills produced by vaccination to neutralize omicrons on laboratory tests that complained antibodies against live viruses and against pseudovirus built in the laboratory to imitate variants.
The researchers found that antibodies from multiple people with modern, pfizer, astrazeneca, and Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccines were significantly less effective in neutralizing omicron compared to the original virus.
The antibodies of previous infected individuals even tended to neutralize Omicron, they said.
People who receive booster shots from the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine are likely to be better protected, although even their antibodies show reduced neutralizing activities against Omicron, research shows.
“New results show that previously infected individuals and individuals who are fully vaccinated at risk for the infection with the omicron variant,” said David Ho, a professor at Columbia University Vagelos College of Fictian and surgeon.
“Even the third booster shot might not adequately protect against omicron infection, but of course it is recommended to get it, because you will still benefit from some immunity,” he added.
The researchers noted that these findings were consistent with other neutralization studies, as well as the initial epidemiological data from South Africa and the United Kingdom, which showed the efficacy of two vaccine doses of symptomatic disease significantly reduced to Omicron.
The study also shows that all monoclonal antibody therapies are currently used and mostly in development are far more effective against Omicron.
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the ability of the immune system to fight harmful pathogens such as viruses.
In neutralization studies with monoclonal antibodies, only one – Brii198 approved in China – maintaining important activity against Omicron, according to the researchers.
Omicron minor forms are fully resistant to all antibodies in clinical use today, they said.
The research writer noted that Omicron now is the most complete “escapee” of the neutralization that scientists have seen.
They also identified four new mutations in the omicron surge protein that helped virus dodge antibodies, a finding that could inform the design of a new approach to combat variants.
The SARS-COV-2 virus uses a surge protein to enter and infect human cells.
Researchers suggest that new vaccines and treatments need to be developed which can anticipate how viruses develop.
“Not too far to think that SARS-COV-2 is now only a mutation or two of which is fully resistant to current antibodies, both monoclonal antibodies used as therapy or antibodies produced by vaccination or infection with the previous variant” added.