New studies indicate mRNA vaccines provide limited protection against Omicron, but boosters and new shots may be crucial
The first substantial evidence for how mRNA vaccines will hold up against the new Omicron variant was released Tuesday night from scientists in South Africa.
The study, conducted by mixing sera from vaccinated individuals with live Omicron virus, showed that the variant could largely — but not entirely — dodge antibodies elicited by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The result suggests that the vaccines will be less effective at preventing infection by Omicron. But because many antibodies do still bind to the virus, experts say, boosters should help stem the decline. And efficacy will likely hold up against the most important metric for vaccines: preventing severe disease.
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