Booster Dose Works on Omicron

Amidst the growing concerns about Omicron, it has come to the fore that a booster dose of the corona vaccine can effectively prevent it to a great extent. However, it is less effective on Omicron than Delta. This claim has been made in the research of the University of Paris, which has been published by the journal Nature.

According to the research, people who took both doses of the vaccine five months ago or got a corona infection six months ago did not get neutralizing antibodies to compete with Omicron. Researchers from the University of Paris have made this claim after examining the serum of 54 people. First, the Omicron variant was isolated from a passenger who returned from Egypt. After this, the reaction of the vaccine against it was studied. 16 people were examined who had taken both doses of Pfizer five months ago.

No neutralizing antibodies were found in any, or so little was found that it was of no use. Whereas 18 people had taken the AstraZeneca vaccine, who had been fully vaccinated 6-12 months ago and had also been infected with corona before that. Neutralizing antibodies were also not found in these. In the third group, 20 people were examined who had also taken a booster dose after two doses of Pfizer.

The study found that neutralizing antibodies were present in these people, which were also effective against Omicron, but they were 6–23 percent less effective than Delta.

Booster dose activates antibodies
Research has said that booster doses may be somewhat effective against Omicron. Because after five to six months, the neutralizing antibodies start decreasing. The booster dose makes them active again. Therefore, a booster dose may effectively protect against Omicron to some extent, if not completely.