The third dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine significantly increases the body’s level of defense against the new omicron coronavirus strain. This is stated in a press release from the British-Swedish company with reference to laboratory research. Moderna and Pfizer have previously announced the effectiveness of the omicron booster vaccine.
Neutralizing antibody titers for the omicron strain increased after the booster dose of Vaxzevria vaccine compared to titers after the second dose, the developers said. Antibody levels after receiving the third dose were higher than those seen in people who had previously recovered from alpha, beta, delta and original COVID-19 strains.
“Serum obtained from patients one month after receiving the third, booster dose of vaccine neutralized the omicron strain at a level that was broadly in line with that observed after taking the second dose from the delta variant,” the report said.
The conclusions were drawn from a study conducted by the University of Oxford. It was attended by 61 people: 40 of them received three doses of Vaxzevria, and the remaining 20 people received three doses of vaccine from the American Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
“It is very encouraging that modern vaccines are able to protect against omicron after the third booster dose. These results support the use of a third booster dose in national vaccination strategies, especially to limit the spread of worrying variants of the virus, in particular the omicron, ”said study author John Bell. Earlier, the effectiveness of the booster against a new variety of coronavirus was announced by Moderna and Pfizer.
The omicron coronavirus strain, which was originally known as B.1.1.529, was discovered in late November in southern Africa. According to the World Health Organization, omicron spreads much faster than the previously dominant delta strain. In addition, there is an increased likelihood that people vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 may become infected or reinfected with omicron. At the moment, omicron has been found in 89 countries of the world. In Russia, 41 cases of infection have been identified.
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