Corona vaccination: study shows how well the booster works against BA.4 and BA.5
Created: 06/30/2022, 05:57
By: Yasina Hipp
The third vaccination also helps against new omicron subtypes.
© picture alliance/dpa/Bernd von Jutrczenka
The number of infections is increasing again, the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 are spreading.
But how well do the booster vaccinations actually help against it?
Columbus - For a few weeks now, the two words BA.4 and BA.5 have been circulating when it comes to the current summer wave of the corona pandemic.
The two subtypes of the omicron variant now seem to be spreading more and more.
Initially, BA.4 and BA.5 in South Africa caused another sharp increase in new corona infections.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is now reporting increased distribution of the two Omikron siblings in Germany as well.
According to the latest data from week 23 (6 June to 12 June), BA.5 is already the dominant variant with a share of almost 50 percent.
And the spread of BA.4 is increasing proportionally.
In view of the current developments and looking towards autumn and winter, the question then arises:
How well does the current vaccine protection help against these subtypes with a higher transmissibility?
A US research team has taken a closer look at it.
Corona booster vaccination: Almost no protection against new subtypes with only two vaccine doses
The study "Neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 and BA.2.12.1 subvariants" was primarily about the effectiveness of the booster vaccination as the third vaccination overall.
So the Ohio team compared the efficacy of double and triple vaccinees versus variants BA.4 and BA.5 and BA.2.12.1.
First of all, however, it should be noted that the sample of 14 or 30 test persons is quite small and the results cannot therefore be fully transferred to the current pandemic situation.
Nevertheless, the researchers came to interesting conclusions.
The immune system of people with only two doses of Moderna or BionTech vaccine was not able to neutralize one of the variants, i.e. successfully fight it.
Protection was higher in people who received three doses of either Moderna or BionTech vaccine.
However, overall significantly lower than the protection against older variants.
Name:
Neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 and BA.2.12.1 Subvariants
Date and place of publication:
June 15, 2022 in The New England Journal of Medicine
Authors:
Panke Qu, Julia Faraone, John P. Evans et al.
Sample:
14 or 30 subjects
Corona vaccination: The importance of booster vaccinations is immense
"The booster vaccination delivered sufficient neutralizing antibody titers against subvariants BA.4/5 and BA.2.12.1, albeit to a lesser extent than against BA.1 and BA.2," the study summarizes.
In addition, the team studied 30 people infected with omicron.
Here it was shown that such an infection “apparently offers no effective protection against the newly emerging sublines”.
In Germany, 51.2 million people, i.e. around 61.6% of the population, have currently received at least one booster vaccination (as of June 28).
In the final sentence, the researchers appeal to the population and urgently point out the "importance of the booster vaccination" for protection against newly occurring variants.
