Pfizer’s Booster Dose Effectively Neutralizes Omicron Variant: Study

Preliminary results of laboratory research have revealed that a booster or third dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective against the Omicron variant, the most mutated strain of the Coronavirus that was first identified in South Africa towards the end of November.

During the research, Pfizer researchers analyzed the samples of blood serum taken from hundreds of individuals originally vaccinated with the two-dose Pfizer vaccine. They found that antibodies present in the samples did not neutralize the Omicron variant effectively.

However, the Omicron strain was effectively neutralized after the third dose was administered to the samples of blood serum. In fact, the booster dose generated the same amount of antibodies against the Omicron variant as the two doses produce against the original strain of Coronavirus.

Besides, Pfizer researchers also found that the antibodies developed against the original variant of COVID-19 decreased by 25% several months after the completion of two-dose vaccination.

They added that T-cells were still highly effective against the original strain, meaning that individuals vaccinated with the two-dose Pfizer vaccine will still be protected against severe infection of Coronavirus.

Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BioNTech, the German biotechnology company that developed the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with Pfizer, said that reducing the time between the second and third dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be key in boosting protection against Omicron variant, which has been detected in more than 50 countries.

He added that the modification of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine specifically for the Omicron variant is well underway. It will be ready in March next year and will be made available for use after regulatory approvals around the world.

Note here that the development comes a day after scientists at the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) in South Africa claimed that the two-dose Pfizer’s vaccine does not offer significant protection against the Omicron variant of Coronavirus.

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