Omicron infection increases antibodies against Delta only if…: Study on COVID reinfection
The antibodies against BA.1 increased 13.6-fold in vaccinated and 6-fold in the unvaccinated participants. For Delta, neutralization increased by 5.7-fold in vaccinated and 3-fold in unvaccinated participants.
Omicron infection can increase the level of antibodies against the Delta COVID variant, but only if you are vaccinated against the virus, a new study has revealed.
For the study, which is based out of South Africa, the researchers conducted tests on 39 individuals who had Omicron infection. Of them, 15 were vaccinated against the virus.
And following this, the antibodies against BA.1 increased 13.6-fold in vaccinated and 6-fold in the unvaccinated participants. For Delta, neutralization also increased, i.e. 5.7-fold in vaccinated and 3-fold in unvaccinated participants.
At the last time-point, unvaccinated BA.1 infected individuals had 2.2-fold lower BA.1 neutralization, 12.0-fold lower Delta neutralization, 9.6-fold lower Beta variant neutralization, 17.9-fold lower ancestral virus neutralization, and 4.8-fold lower Omicron sub-lineage BA.2 neutralization relative to vaccinated, the study said.
“These results indicate that vaccination combined with Omicron/BA.1 infection hybrid immunity should be protective against Delta and other variants," the authors added.
Omicron is still mutating
The highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19, which was first detected in southern Africa in November last year and rapidly spread globally, is now the dominant variant, accounting for almost all new cases. WHO's latest report showed that the sub-lineages BA.4 and BA.5 "have acquired a few additional mutations that may impact their characteristics."
"The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants were identified because South Africa is still doing the vital genetic sequencing that many other countries have stopped doing," Tedros said adding, "In many countries, we're essentially blind to how the virus is mutating."
"The best way to protect people remains vaccination, alongside tried and tested public health and social measures," Tedros insisted Wednesday.
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