Getting your booster may help you defend against COVID-19’s omicron variant.
Booster shots of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine significantly improve one’s odds against the new omicron variant, increasing the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to the initial two doses, according to lab tests conducted by the company.
“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said in a press statement. “Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two-dose series, and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
FIRST OMICRON COVID-19 CASE REPORTED IN ILLINOIS IN INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS VACCINATED, BOOSTED
While these results are preliminary and inconclusive, they may provide insight into the efficacy of the booster against new variants. The results have also convinced Pfizer to deliver an omicron-based vaccine as early as March 2022.
The omicron variant was discovered Thanksgiving week and declared a “Variant of Concern” by the World Health Organization on Nov. 26. Since then, the variant has been reported in at least 19 states and several countries worldwide. Most cases have involved vaccinated individuals without boosters.
The first omicron case involving someone who had the vaccine and booster was reported Tuesday in Illinois.
The variant is still being studied, but early research asserts that omicron is more infectious but less severe in symptoms than other strains. No omicron-related deaths have been reported as of Saturday.
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There have been more than 49.1 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States, and 787,064 deaths have been attributed to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than three-quarters of people in the U.S. over the age of 5 have received at least one vaccine dose, the public health agency added.
