The omicron variant BA.5 has been dominant in Germany for weeks. It is spreading rapidly and is escaping, at least in part, the immunity of those who have been vaccinated and those who have recovered. Researchers have now been able to determine how well the immune response still protects against BA.5.
Just yesterday, Biontech/Pfizer announced that it was testing a new vaccine candidate against the coronavirus. This “next generation” vaccine has been modified compared to the original and is intended to provide better protection against the corona variants.
However, it may be months before such an adapted vaccine comes onto the market. However, the number of infections is already alarmingly high. And they will continue to climb in the fall, experts fear.
For this reason, it is worth taking a look at the vaccines that we already have available – and with which we are already boosting risk groups a second time. After data on the efficacy of older variants had been published so far, two research groups are now investigating the question: How well do our vaccines protect against BA.5? And how well are those who have recovered protected from BA.5? Before the dominant variant in Germany, which is considered even more infectious than all previous ones?
BA.5 escapes, at least in part, from the immune response that vaccinates and recoveries have developed. However, this does not mean that the antibodies and T cells developed are useless, as a study from Portugal now shows.
During April 25 and June 10, 2022, scientists investigated how the immune response to the BA.2 variant, previously also prevalent in Germany, differs from that of the BA.5 variant.
To do this, they analyzed the data from around 15,400 BA.2 infected people and 12,300 BA.5 infected people. The scientists found that both the protection against reinfection and against severe courses in boosted patients was reduced with the BA.5 variant.
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A study from Denmark also gives hope that the antibodies developed through vaccines and recovery protect against BA.5 better than feared.
The researchers examined the data of around 4,800 people who received a positive PCR result between April 10 and June 20, 2022 and were infected with the BA.5 variant.
In doing so, they found:
Overall, the scientists noted a high level of protection against the variant, especially in people who had been vaccinated three times and had previously been infected with omicron.
However, the researchers also found that “BA.5 infection was associated with an increased risk of hospitalization.” However, that has yet to be “confirmed and verified” as hospital admissions would have been low and stable at the time.
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Both studies are preprints, i.e. preliminary publications that have not yet been reviewed by an independent group of experts. However, the data give reason to hope that the vaccines available to date, which are currently also recommended as a second booster for risk groups in particular, will continue to protect against a severe course.
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