The BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine could be weak against Omicron, research has found

The BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine may be less effective against Omicron than other types of coronavirus while still providing protection, according to a South African study that provides an initial and inadequate analysis of how the jab can react with a new species.

Researchers from the African Health Research Institute said the loss of immunity from vaccines was “significant but insignificant” in first published study which confused the terrorist with Omicron.

The researchers took 14 plasma samples from 12 participants who underwent two doses of BioNTech vaccine and tested the potential for plasma inhibition Omicron.

Laboratory tests found that Omicron virus had a 41-fold reduction in viral antibodies compared to the first type of virus found in Wuhan about two years ago.

Omicron also escaped the larger antibody combination[ly]”Than Beta type that was large in the past in South Africa, the authors of the study found.

However, Alex Sigal, head of research at the Durban-based laboratory, said that despite a significant reduction in antibody production, Omicron did not immediately vaccinate the vaccine.

In a very positive study, the researchers also said that people who had been exposed to the Covid-19 virus in the past receiving two doses of the vaccine remained “very high” antibody levels. This “could provide protection against Omicron’s deadly disease,” he added.

Preliminary results follow the rapid spread of the Omicron species as it was first identified in South Africa in late November, which raised concerns among health professionals that they could evade existing vaccines.

Ugur Sahin, chief executive of BioNTech, responded to a press release from South Africa by saying the company was expected to publish the content this week. “I could be more pregnant, “he told NBC.

Eric Topol, founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, said the results showed that vaccine manufacturers had to develop vaccines. a new class of Omicron supplements.

“It seems to be what we expect, going hand in hand with many of the vaccination cases previously reported by Omicron,” he added.

Danny Altmann, professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said South African research raised hopes that “civilized people would be safe”.

The study found that twice as many pre-existing detainees were “all in a safe place”, according to Altmann, who said the group was similar to people who received three doses.

Jacob Glanville, an immunologist and founder of the US company Centivax, said the study showed that most people who are vaccinated could get the disease from Omicron.

“The reason [public health officials] asks people to add a reason. . . [double-vaccinated] people will have less antibody protection but most will not have enough to eradicate the virus, “he added.

However, Glanville added that T-cells, which target a larger portion of the virus than antibodies, allow people with double vaccination to “remain immune to serious infections”.

Morgan Stanley said the findings of the African Research Institute show a significant decline in vaccine effectiveness below 50 percent against Omicron’s symptoms.

“As we await more information from Moderna and Pfizer, we believe the opportunity for further development is increasing,” said Matthew Harrison, a researcher at Morgan Stanley.

Last week, Stéphane Bancel, chief of Moderna, he warned that new mutations could lead to a “decline” in the performance of vaccines.

Separately, researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet said they had observed a “significant loss” of Omicron’s political neutrality, with some examples “showing no loss” and others showing more.

The median loss of neutralization power was “lower than fear”, which could make Omicron worse than Delta but “not as extreme as we would expect”, said Ben Murrell, one of the researchers. The researchers used a pseudovirus that was designed to appear as a new complication in their experiments.

They noted that what was common between South African and Swedish education was that “political neutrality is not a complete loss of all the models, which is a good thing”.

Gradual testing cannot accurately predict whether a vaccine will be effective. Earlier on Tuesday, Kate O’Brien, chief of the vaccine at the World Health Organization, said: “We already know that antibody systems against different species are the same information” but that full training on how to work may not be temporarily accomplished. .

Additional reports of Peter Wells in New York