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[COVID-19] AstraZeneca Booster Shot Effective Against Omicron – Study

Published

3 years ago

Dec 23, 2021.

Levels of neutralising antibodies were also higher with the booster jab than with individuals who had previously been infected…

EKO HOT BLOG reports that AstraZeneca has said that a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine “significantly” lifted antibody levels against the Omicron coronavirus variant, citing data from a new laboratory study.

Findings from the study, yet to be published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, match those from rivals Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which have also found a third dose of their shots works against Omicron.

The study on AstraZeneca’s vaccine, Vaxzevria, showed that after a three-dose course of the vaccine, neutralising levels against Omicron were broadly similar to those against the virus’s Delta variant after two doses.

Levels of neutralising antibodies were also higher with the booster jab than with individuals who had previously been infected and recovered naturally.

The company said the researchers at Oxford University who carried out the study were independent from those who worked to develop the vaccine with AstraZeneca last year.

“As we better understand Omicron, we believe we will find that T-cell response provides durable protection against severe disease and hospitalisations,” Mene Pangalos, the head of AstraZeneca’s biopharmaceuticals R&D said, referring to a critical component of the immune system that responds to fight infection.

The threat of the highly transmissible Omicron variant looms large over the December holiday season, forcing many governments to roll out new curbs and urge citizens to get vaccinated.

However, separate UK research has suggested that Omicron infections are less likely to result in hospitalisation compared with the Delta variant.

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