According to a laboratory study, people unjabbed who had previously received the Delta Covid variant could have little protection from Omicron infection.
Austrian scientists tested the antibodies of people who have beaten the original strain to determine their levels of antibody.
The researchers found that only one sample of seven produced enough proteins to neutralize Omicron.
It suggests that prior infection alone offers virtually no protection against catching Omicron — but the jury’s still out on severe illness.
Antibodies only represent one aspect of the immune system. They don’t include T cell or B immunity. These are important for protecting against serious disease, but are more difficult to quantify.
Scientists believe that people with Covid may still be protected from serious consequences, although immunity has been shown to decrease significantly over the following six months.
The Austrian scientists, from the Medical University of Innsbruck, found that if Delta survivors then went on to get a vaccine they became ‘super-immune’, even against infection.
British experts responded to the study by stating that they were reminded of the need for booster shots.
This is in contrast to the fact that the severity of South African cases was low, which alerted the entire world to this new Covid variant.
South Africa’s current epidemic appears to be at its peak, with an average of 370 hospital admissions per day, despite the fact that only 25% of the population is vaccinated.
Chris Whitty, England’s chief physician, partly attributes the success of his country to the recent Delta wave’s antibody booster.
This chart shows how the blood samples of people who had received vaccines and and survived a previous Delta infection performed when exposed to Omicron in terms of producing neutralizing antibodies, measured here as IC50 a measures of effectiveness. Failure to reach IC50 16 will result in a lack of sufficient antibodies to fight Omicron. These averages are based upon all of the combinations. The results show that an earlier Delta infection does not offer significant protection for antibody production. A combination of Covid infections and vaccines produced the most effective response.
According to figures released by UKHSA yesterday, Omicron confirmed cases increased in England by 69% compared with the previous day. They rose from 9,427 up to 23,168
Austrian researchers tested seven different blood samples from Delta survivors to see if they could inhibit Omicron.
The antibodies didn’t recognize Omicron due to its highly mutated nature, which is different to that of the Delta variant.
This was also true for the two-dose Oxford AstraZeneca jab. None of the samples generated enough antibodies to beat Omicron.
A Pfizer jabber did two times better than the other, nineteen out of twenty samples produced enough antibodies to combat the Covid variant.
Only one in 10 of two Moderna jabs was effective at producing antibodies against Omicron.
The best results were seen from five individuals who both had a Covid infection but then received a vaccine. This group was what researchers called the “super-immune”.
The Omicron antibody response of these individuals was approximately four times that of the Pfizer/AstraZeneca combination.
A combination of five individuals with the same type of infection resulted in five samples being taken. An antibody test was then done on the Covid infections. It produced an approximately twice-as good result as one jab.
The results for Covid vaccines showed that Omicron was less effective than other Covid variants.
Professor Lawrence Young a microbiologist from the University of Warwick said although the study has small numbers it added to research demonstrating Omicron’s ability to dodge immunity.
He said, “This paper with very few samples confirms previous data and highlights the immuno-evasive capabilities of Omicron variant.”
The researcher said that although it was dangerous to make any inferences from the research, he stated that it strengthened the necessity of receiving a booster and that those who receive one would probably enjoy the same Omicron protection that the super-immune.
‘It’s dangerous to extrapolate what this data means for immune protection in vaccinated individuals other than reinforcing the value of booster vaccination – which is likely to be similar to the super immune individuals in this study,’ he said.
A microbiologist spoke out about the disparity that the results of this study seem to have with Omicron’s South African experience.
The findings are in direct contradiction to those of South Africa’s low incidence. This was partly due to an increase in antibody levels following a recent Delta wave.
Professor Young this could be due other non-antibody parts of the immune system, such as T-cells, which are vital for protection against severe disease but more difficult to measure, though he added demographic factors could also be at play.
He said that he believed the T cell response was responsible for the current situation in South Africa. However, he also suggested other factors such as the lower average age of South Africans.
Professor Ian Jones a virologist from the University of Reading also discussed the limitations of the study.
According to him, the study only measured Omicron’s infectibility but did not determine how severe the infected could become. This left many questions unanswered about the best way to handle the Covid variant.
He stated that they only measure the virus entering cells and not the disease. Therefore, the dilemma of planning for an adverse outcome to this current wave is still present.
“The tests measure the neutralizing antibodies but they are just one component of the total protective response.
“Add the fact that Omicron does not appear to infect the lung tissue in the same way as other infections, and the anecdotal reports of it being milder, and you have the hospitalization argument.
Omicron has been a target of the UK’s hopes for the rollout Covid booster doses.
Just 29 million Britons are now covered by a Covid, but 25 million adults still require one in order to be protected from Omicron.
After Omicron’s arrival in the UK, the UK has been unable to support the campaign that was being launched before Omicron.
In response to Omicron’s threat, the Prime Minister committed to increasing the dosage of boosters to one million-jabs per day on December 13.
However the booster campaign has continually failed to reach this target in the week since its announcement, only getting close on December 18 when 940,606 third Covid vaccine doses were administered.
Yesterday night was the declaration of PM Experts have warned that the NHS could be overwhelmed by Omicron, and there won’t be further pandemic restrictions.
Johnson acknowledged that Johnson made the right decision. However, there are rumors that the Government may still have to use a “circuit breaker” before next year if it becomes clearer today or tomorrow that things are rapidly getting worse.
These evidence consist of an Imperial College assessment on Omicron’s severity.
It now appears too late to put in legal restrictions prior to December 25. The Prime Minister has already promised to allow MPs to have a say on new restrictions.
SAGE modelers’ claim that death rates could rise to 6,000 per day under the worst case scenario has drawn heavy criticism. However, daily cases are on the rise and reached 100,000 December 15.
The leading statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter also noted that approximately half of all new Covid admissions to Omicron Hotspot London were positive for Covid after they arrived at the hospital. This could be due to a different condition, but he said it would not affect pressures on the NHS.
Today’s official figures reveal that Covid was listed on 764 deaths certificates in England and Wales during the week ending December 10. This is 4 percent less than the previous week, and it has been at its lowest since October.
Jacob Rees Mogg was the Commons Leader and is reported to have called on the government not to bring back harsh laws but to “trust people” to deal with the outbreak.