The Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire. The whole planet is recording daily records in the number of cases.
The latest data show that there are more than 212.00 daily cases of the strain in England alone.
We know that being infected with Covid strengthens our immune system and that the vaccine (and booster dose) will also provide great protection against Covid.
So that means we do not have to worry about Covid if we have already received a booster dose and have already stuck to Micron? But before we start running feeling undefeated, here are some things we need to know.
Sticking Covid strengthens our immune system
Antibodies to coronavirus from natural infection can take at least six months for the majority (88%) of people infected with the virus, according to a UK Biobank study of the original strain. The researchers said the results showed that antibodies produced after a natural infection could "provide a degree of protection for most people".
According to a new analysis from the Zoe Covid Study application, 81% of participants who tested for antibodies after a known infection Covid-19 tested positive for anti-N antibodies - antibodies obtained from natural infection rather than vaccination.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease specialist at the University of East Anglia, says: "Infection - whether with Omicron or any other variant - will boost our immunity. This immunity will be better at treating the same variant, but it will also enhance immunity (and) to other variants, albeit in a less effective way. "
Being fully vaccinated offers protection but for how long?
Analysis by Zoe Covid Study, which invites users to record their vaccination for Covid-19 to monitor their side effects and efficacy, suggested that the Pfizer vaccine was 88% effective in preventing infection from Covid-19 one month after the second dose, but after five to six months, protection was reduced to 74%.
The AstraZeneca vaccine offered 77% protection against infection one month after the second dose, but after four to five months, the protection was reduced to 67%.
But again, these data come from the original Covid executive. We know that vaccines are less effective than the Delta and Omicron variants, so it is important to take the booster dose.
Will the booster dose protect us from the Omicron variant?
Research shows that boosting doses provides more protection. "All of the vaccines in our study show a statistically significant boost," said Professor Saul Faust, lead researcher and director of the NIHR Clinical Research Facility at Southampton University NHS Foundation Trust.
The latest CovBoost study, published in The Lancet, included 2.878 people aged 30 and over who received a booster dose 10 to 12 weeks after the first two doses.
Although the Omicron variant that recently appeared was not examined in the study, it has shown that booster vaccines work well against existing variants.
"The data clearly show that all booster doses boosted at least one aspect of our immunity to Covid and that the side effects were, on the whole, mild," added Jonathan Ball, a professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham.
Professor Chris Whitey, chief health officer for England, has also in the past urged people to take a booster dose for better protection against Omicron.
"Supplementary doses provide the best possible protection against the virus and should significantly reduce the risk of serious illness and hospitalization," he said. "Make your booster vaccine for Covid-19 to enhance your protection. Please, take the reminder now ".
Can we be re-infected with the Omicron variant?
Unfortunately, the answer is yes, but Professor Hunter adds a few reasons to be optimistic.
"It will be possible to catch Omicron more than once, although subsequent infections will almost always be less severe than the first time," he told HuffPost UK. "Most people who stick to Omicron can probably wait at least a year to get stuck again."
It is important to continue to be careful about Covid, however, as research is ongoing and as we have seen repeatedly, new variations can change the state of the game very quickly.
"If another variation occurs during this period, the immunity (which we have developed against) to Omicron could escape and cause infection," adds Professor Hunter.
"We do not yet have data on whether the booster dose gives us more protection if we stick to the Micron, but (this) is almost certain.
The best evidence comes from the finding that people who have taken two doses and have (and) had an infection show better immunity than people who have had three doses of the vaccine, - (immunity) especially against serious illnesses.
Source: huffingtonpost.gr