Interviewed by France Info this Wednesday December 8, 2021 about the effectiveness of vaccines against the new Omicron variant, Pr. Anne-Claude Crémieux states “unfortunately, (according) to primary data from South Africa, there is a decrease in the vaccine’s effectiveness that seems meaningful”. Nevertheless, “the decrease is major but partial”, the infectious disease specialist at the Saint-Louis hospital in Paris explains.
She goes on: “neutralizing antibodies aroused by the vaccine neutralize far less this Omicron variant than the other variants according to the primary results that need confirmation. This escape is only partial. Someone who has had an infection prior to vaccination, the serum remains effective on the Omicron variant. The neutralizing antibodies, they will be needed more or eventually need to change the vaccine, but anyway, there is a residual level of protection”.
For all that, Anne-Claude Crémieux explains scientists have not addressed the effectiveness of the third dose of vaccine against the Omicron variant. It is “likely the booster shot provides us with this famous protection against severe diseases”.
Further studies are currently rolling to find out more about the viral and hazardous nature of the Omicron variant.
