More good news is slowly trickling in about the omikron variant. For example, British researchers concluded last week that omikron may be more contagious than previous variants, but that the variant probably less sickening.
And De Vries points out that two foreign studies were published at the same time with approximately the same results as those of Erasmus MC regarding the recognition of the omikron variant by T cells. “They have done similar studies in the United States and South Africa. Overall, all studies show the same results. That’s good news.”
Is a booster still necessary?
According to De Vries, this does not mean that a booster is unnecessary, because T cells may prevent serious disease, but it is not a guarantee. “Our data on the booster shot is still limited, but in any case we see that the booster does boost the antibodies a lot and the T-cell response also goes up slightly. It is better to prevent the virus from entering your body than to prevent your body from entering. have to clean it up afterwards.”
In addition, the omikron variant appears to be much more contagious than delta and T cells do not protect everyone against serious disease. If a lot of people become infected, there may still be a wave of hospital admissions. That could prevent the booster. “It is expected that boosting the antibodies will have a beneficial effect on the spread of the virus.”
‘No reason to change policy’
According to OMT member and medical microbiologist Marc Bonten, it is an important study that supports the idea that through vaccination and past infection the T cells are trained in such a way that they will also respond to omikron and continue to do their job. “At least, in the test tube. We don’t know yet what that looks like in humans. So we can say very carefully that we are protected against serious disease with omikron.”
It is still unclear what this study could mean for any relaxation. In its latest opinion, the OMT concluded that the British research results on hospital admissions were not enough to establish that omikron is less disease-causing.
As far as Bonten is concerned, you cannot decide to change policy on the basis of lab research. “You want to see that with certainty in the hospital admissions, before you sail a different course. And there are first signals from Denmark and England that hospital admissions are increasing. That is exciting and we have to keep a close eye on it. “
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