BioNTech / Pfizer’s vaccine apparently only offers partial protection against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. This was announced by laboratory manager Alex Sigal from the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa on the basis of preliminary results. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers that Omikron could completely undermine the protection of vaccines, however, as “highly unlikely”. BioNTech boss Ugur Sahin expects reliable data on Wednesday or Thursday.
There is a very large decrease in Omikron neutralization. The neutralization of Omikron “decreased very much” compared to an earlier Covid strain, Sigal explained on Twitter. His laboratory examined the blood of twelve people who were vaccinated with the vaccine from BioNTech / Pfizer, according to the study published on the laboratory’s website. A 41-fold decrease in neutralizing antibodies against the Omikron variant was observed. The preliminary data have not yet been reviewed by peers.
There are also no meaningful studies on how the vaccines from Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and other drug manufacturers behave against the new variant. Leading U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that preliminary results would suggest the variant likely had a higher degree of communicability but was less severe. BioNTech boss Sahin assumed on Tuesday that his own data on the effectiveness of the vaccine against the Omikron variant could be available on Wednesday or Thursday. He told the US broadcaster NBC News.
For the WHO expert Michael Ryan, it is “extremely unlikely” that the new omicron variant of the coronavirus could completely undermine the protection of vaccines. “We have highly effective vaccines that have so far proven to be effective against all variants in terms of serious illnesses and hospital stays,” said the head of the WHO emergency department on Tuesday. “There is no reason to believe that this could not be the case with Omikron”.
The Irish doctor also confirmed earlier expert assessments that infection with the new variant could cause less severe symptoms. “The general behavior we’ve seen so far shows no increase in severity,” he said. Fauci had previously made a similar statement. Ryan emphasized, however, that the analysis of the new variant was “at the very beginning”.
The omicron variant was discovered by scientists in South Africa at the end of November. Since then it has been found in dozens of countries, including Austria. It has 50 mutations compared to the original virus, 32 of them in the so-called spike protein, with which the coronavirus docks on the host cell. It is therefore feared that this variant is significantly more contagious than previous variants.
But Ryan said: “We are not so interested in whether you can re-infect yourself with Omikron, but whether the new infections are more severe or easier.” The WHO senior official said: “The best weapon we have right now is vaccination”. The data from South Africa “does not show that we have a catastrophic loss of effectiveness”. In fact, “at the moment, the opposite is actually the case”.
The German virologist Christian Drosten sees difficulties with Omikron in his country from the beginning of next year. “I think we will have a problem with Omikron in Germany from January,” said the scientist from the Charité in Berlin on Tuesday in the “Coronavirus Update” podcast at NDR-Info. This problem could last into the summer, he warned.
In South Africa, the growth rates are high despite the summer that is beginning there. “And that’s why I wouldn’t say at the moment that the pandemic in Germany will be over by Easter if Omikron takes over.” So far, he has known about 25 to 30 Omikron cases in Germany from his exchange with colleagues, reported Drosten. The number is not complete and will increase “in a very short time”.
However, the virologist emphasized that there were still many unanswered questions about the variant and that more data would have to be awaited. Drosten spoke several times of a “guessing hour”. The starting positions in South Africa and England, where Omikron is spreading at a worrying speed, are also different than in Germany. He doesn’t want to paint the devil on the wall either, but he thinks caution is necessary in view of the changes in the virus, said the Charité researcher.
At Omikron the “stupidest combination” of properties is to be feared: immune escape and gain in fitness – a variant that escapes the antibodies of vaccinated and convalescents better and is also more contagious. The vaccination gaps in Germany have to be closed, that is the first priority, said Drosten. Also in view of the severe courses that have now been observed in children in South Africa, it is to be feared that Omikron is “not harmless” for those who have not been vaccinated. One should not fall into euphoria over reports of mild courses in recovered and vaccinated people.