Will current COVID vaccines fail against the Omicron variant? What does WHO say

Speaking to AFP, the World Health Organization’s second-in-command said much remains to be learned about the new, heavily mutated version of Covid-19, with preliminary data indicating that it may be affecting Delta and others. Compared to strains doesn’t make people sick.

“Preliminary data do not indicate that it is more serious. In fact, if anything, the direction is towards less severity,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said in an interview.

“It’s very early days now, we have to be very careful how we interpret that signal.”

Also, he said that there is no indication that Omicron can completely bypass the protection provided by existing COVID vaccines.

“We have highly effective vaccines that have proven effective against all forms of serious illness and hospitalization so far,” said the 56-year-old epidemiologist and former trauma surgeon.

There is “no reason to expect” for Omicron, he said, pointing to early data from South Africa, where the variant was first detected, that “suggests that the vaccine is on hold, at least in terms of safety”. Is”.

– ‘Best Weapon’ –

Ryan acknowledged that it is possible that existing vaccines may prove less effective against Omicron, which counts more than 30 mutations on the spike protein that dot the surface of the coronavirus and allows it to invade cells. Is.

But he added that it is “highly unlikely” it will be able to evade vaccine protection altogether.

“We’ll have to confirm if there’s a lapse in that security, but I would expect to see some security there.

“Preliminary data from South Africa does not indicate that we will have a catastrophic loss of efficacy. In fact, the opposite is true at this time.”

In the fight against all Covid forms, he said, “the best weapon we have right now is to get vaccinated.”

Two weeks after it was first identified, Omicron has been found in dozens of countries around the world.

Early data from South Africa indicating the new version is more transmittable than previous versions, Ryan said, was no surprise.

“When a new variant comes out, it will become more permeable, as it has got to compete with the previous variants,” he said.

– Same rule –

The quick-witted Irishman said one can expect Omicron to gradually replace Delta as the dominant strain.

But he pointed out that Omicron had so far been observed to spread particularly rapidly in South Africa, where the delta was reduced, and may have been “exploiting a gap in the transmission of the delta”.

There are also indications that Omicron is better able to infect people who have been vaccinated or already have COVID.

“There is some evidence to suggest that re-infection with Omicron is more common than with previous waves or previous forms,” ​​Ryan said.

But “we’re not particularly interested in seeing whether you can be reinfected with Omicron, but whether any new infections are more or less severe.”

He said that, as current COVID vaccines aim to prevent severe disease, but do not necessarily only protect against contracting the virus, re-infection with mild or no symptoms was of less concern.

In any case, Ryan said, despite its mutation, the new variant was still COVID, and must be fought with the same measures, including vaccines, masks and physical distancing.

“The virus has not changed its nature. It may have changed in terms of its efficiency, but it has not changed the game completely,” he said.

“The rules of the game are still the same.”

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.