Omicron vaccine: does an adapted corona vaccine still make sense?

Created: 03/05/2022 11:31 am

By: Bedrettin Bölükbasi

Is the vaccine adapted to Omicron coming much too late?

© Michael Reichel/dpa

The corona vaccine adapted to Omikron has been a long time coming.

For many experts, it comes too late.

Does it still make sense in the current situation?

Munich – When the first vaccines against the deadly corona virus appeared, enthusiasm quickly spread.

The days before the pandemic seemed close again as vaccines would quickly eradicate the virus.

However, when the first more contagious mutations were discovered, expectations were dashed.

Happiness turned to caution again.

The currently dominant mutation is the omicron variant.

It is more contagious than the earlier Delta variant, but has a rather milder course of the disease.

Due to the high risk of infection, however, record numbers of corona cases were registered.

Another point: Current vaccines do not work quite as well at Omikron.

Vaccine manufacturers like Biontech and Moderna therefore rolled up their sleeves and got to work on adapted vaccines.

Omicron booster: Unclear situation about mutant-adapted corona vaccine

So far, however, there is no sign of these new vaccines, which are adapted to the structure of the omicron mutant and are therefore said to be significantly more effective.

According to Biontech boss Ugur Sahin, their vaccine will not come until April or May.

With Moderna you even have to wait until August.

The high point of the omicron wave in Germany is now over.

So the question arises: Does the adapted vaccine still make sense?

A clear answer with "yes" or "no" is difficult at this point.

On the one hand, omicron is still the predominant corona variant and a more effective vaccination would make a significant contribution to containing the infections.

On the other hand, it has already peaked and it is unclear which pandemic situation and possibly which new virus variant will be predominant next winter.

Omicron booster: Immunologist points to changed winter situation - even the manufacturer is unsure

Experts such as immunologist Andreas Radbruch also draw attention to this.

"You can't vaccinate after a virus," Radbruch explained to

at the end of January .

One thing is certain: Omikron will not be the last variant we would have to deal with, which is why we have to wait and see the situation in the coming winter.

"Vaccination with a vaccine modified for omicron makes no sense if the omicron wave is actually over," says Radbruch.

Not even the companies can answer the question about the purpose of the new vaccine with certainty.

In "Bild-Live", Biontech boss Sahin emphasized that it still had to be investigated whether the omicron booster was needed.

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel took a similar stance, saying while a booster shot will be needed, it's not sure if the Omicron-specific vaccine will be needed.

Omicron booster: Initial studies dampen hopes for a more effective vaccine against mutants

The study situation on the Omicron-specific booster also causes some doubts.

In a study conducted by US researchers at the beginning of February, the experts came to the conclusion that an omicron-specific booster could not create any higher immunity or protective effect against the mutant compared to previous vaccines.

The immune response of eight rhesus monkeys was examined, which were given two vaccinations and an additional third vaccination with either the previous vaccines or an adapted vaccine.

Another study by researchers from Taiwan confirmed the results of the US research.

This time, the immune response was tested on mice instead of monkeys.

Here, too, the researchers came to the conclusion that the omicron-specific booster did not particularly increase antibodies against the omicron mutant after two vaccinations with the previous vaccines.

However, it must be noted that initial studies with only a few animals are of limited value.

In addition, most of these studies have not been reviewed by other researchers.

David Montefiori, director of the Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, told

magazine that the results are still valuable due to the compressed timescales in a pandemic.

However, in order to draw definitive conclusions, we still have to wait for more studies on a larger scale.