Omicron variant escapes much of the antibody protection from vaccines and prior infection
In short: When researchers tested blood samples from vaccinated people and from those previously infected with earlier variants such as Alpha, Beta, Gamma or Delta, they found that most samples were far less able to neutralize the newly identified Omicron variant, and some failed to neutralize it at all. Omicron's spike protein carries far more mutations than earlier variants.
Protection was partly restored by a third vaccine dose, and levels stayed high in people who had both vaccination and a Delta infection, but Omicron's mutations also blunted or eliminated the effect of many laboratory-made antibodies, including some developed for clinical use.
The findings come from laboratory neutralization tests on blood serum, not from tracking illness outcomes in people, so they show how well antibodies block the virus in the lab rather than directly measuring real-world protection against disease.
Why it matters: Omicron's mutations let it dodge much of the immunity built by earlier vaccines and infections, though extra vaccine doses help restore protection in the lab.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Dejnirattisai et al. (2022). SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-B.1.1.529 leads to widespread escape from neutralizing antibody responses. Cell. · cc-by
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