Research indicates a third dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine significantly enhances protection against the Omicron variant, restoring antibody levels to a robust state.
A new study that evaluated the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine against the Omicron variant indicates that three doses could offer a sufficient level of protection from disease caused by the Omicron variant.
The globally circulating SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern (VOC) Omicron (B.1.1.529) has a large number of mutations, especially in the spike protein, indicating that recognition by neutralizing antibodies may be compromised. Alexander Muik and colleagues tested Wuhan, Beta, Delta, or Omicron pseudoviruses with sera of 51 participants that received two or three doses of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2.
Impact of Multiple Vaccine Doses
Following two doses, sera had more than 22-fold reduced neutralizing titers against Omicron compared to Wuhan pseudovirus. One month after the third vaccine dose, Omicron-neutralizing titers were increased 23-fold compared to two doses, with titers similar to Wuhan-neutralizing titers after two doses.
The data suggest “a third dose of BNT162b2 augments antibody-based immunity against Omicron, in line with previous observations that a third vaccination broadens humoral immune responses against VOCs,” say the authors.
Conclusion and Future Research Directions
“Further clinical trial and real-world data will soon emerge to address the effectiveness of a third dose with BNT162b2 against COVID-19 mediated by Omicron,” they conclude.
Reference: “Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine-elicited human sera” by Alexander Muik, Bonny Gaby Lui, Ann-Kathrin Wallisch, Maren Bacher, Julia Mühl, Jonas Reinholz, Orkun Ozhelvaci, Nina Beckmann, Ramón de la Caridad Güimil Garcia, Asaf Poran, Svetlana Shpyro, Andrew Finlayson, Hui Cai, Qi Yang, Kena A. Swanson, Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin, 18 January 2022, Science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.abn7591
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4 Comments
And… it may not.
I had 2 Pfizer immunizations and the Booster end of September. Still got Omricon but grateful for the very mild symptoms. I will quarantine 10 days, not 5-7. The problem is my Doctor says I may still test positive up to 90 days out! Antigens remain in your system even if not sick.
So the first two don’t buy the third does
Yeah I got swamp land to sell
So, how does the. Average person person choose which vaccine they should have? And, who’s advice do I accept?