BA.5 booster: Vaccination, effect, recommendation - you have to consider this for the Omikron vaccine

Created: 09/18/2022 05:03

By: Patrick Mayer

Protection against severe corona courses: Adapted Omicron vaccines, including those from BionTech/Pfizer.

(symbol photo) © IMAGO / blickwinkel

The EMA approves an adapted corona vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer against the omicron variant BA.5.

What you should know about the new vaccine. 

Munich - "We know that COVID still poses a threat." With these words, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, made the approval of the new Omicron vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer by the European Commission on Twitter on September 12 Medicines Agency (EMA) public.

This should work particularly well against the currently dominant virus variant BA.5 and protect against serious illnesses caused by the corona virus.

While the Omicron variant BJ.1 has now arrived in Germany's neighboring country Austria, citizens in both countries can now be vaccinated and boosted with an adapted vaccine against BA.5.

But how does the vaccine work?

Who is this suitable for?

And what do the experts recommend?

BA.5 booster: How does the new vaccine from Biontech/Pfizer work?

Biontech and Pfizer have again developed an mRNA vaccine.

This is bivalent, i.e. the vaccine contains the mRNA (genetic information) for the spike of the wild-type Sars-CoV-2 as well as the mRNA for the spike protein of the omicron subvariants BA.1, BA.4 and BA. 5.

This should allow the body to build up immune protection against earlier virus variants as well as against the omicron sub-lineages.

Except for the amended BA.4/BA.5 spike protein mRNA sequence, all components of the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine remained unchanged.

mRNA vaccine (“live vaccine”)

mRNA vaccines contain weakened organisms, are not completely killed parts of the virus.

They trigger a so-called T-cell response.

The cytotoxic T cells that are formed kill infected cells in the body.

And they ensure that the human organism forms antibodies against the virus and its mutations.

BA.5 booster: Which omicron variants should the corona vaccine protect against?

Before all of the BA sub-line.

Biontech and Pfizer refer to pre-clinical data (prior to clinical use), according to which a booster vaccination with the bivalent and adapted corona vaccine elicits strong neutralizing antibody responses.

And against the currently known Omikron variants BA.1, BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5.

The effect against the latest corona mutation BJ.1 has not yet been investigated.

According to the Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, the approved BA.1 vaccines also work against BA.5.

Carsten Watzl refers to clinical data from several hundred subjects.

"We saw significantly more antibodies against the omicron variant in people with the adapted vaccine - in young and old as well as in those who have recovered," explains Watzl.

BA.5 booster: Who is the Biontech vaccine suitable for?

A study published in the scientific journal 

helps to classify this  .

This was carried out in Portugal, where the omicron variant BA.5 had spread comparatively early in Europe.

The result: An earlier vaccination plus a corona infection with BA.1 or BA.2 increases the protection against BA.5 enormously.

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Specifically: According to the study by the “Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes”, the “Universidade de Lisboa” and the “Direção Geral da Saúde” who had been vaccinated and also had been infected with BA.1 or BA.2 was four times better protected from infection with BA.5 than people who have not yet had Covid-19.

Lauterbach explained about the study: "The data show a relatively high protection against BA.5 infection in omicron convalescents with additional vaccination."

In the video: Karl Lauterbach sees effective vaccines for the fight against the corona autumn wave

Means: Anyone who, according to their family doctor, has a high proportion of Covid antibodies in their blood;

who has recently been infected with one of the Omicron variants;

Anyone who has been vaccinated or has already been boosted and has nevertheless been infected with Corona - does not necessarily need vaccination with the BA.5 vaccine.

On the other hand, if you have been vaccinated several times, but have not been shown to be infected with Corona and certainly not with the Omicron subline, you should better talk to your family doctor about a possible BA.5 booster.

This is especially true for unvaccinated people.

In general, the Biontech/Pfizer BA.4/BA.5 vaccine is intended for use in people aged 12 and over who have received at least one primary vaccination course against Covid-19.

BA.5 booster: What do the Omikron experts say?

As of September 15, the Standing Vaccination Committee (Stiko) had not yet made any recommendations for the Omikron boosters.

According to its last recommendations from August 18, Stiko advises a second booster with the vaccines that have not yet been adapted to Omikron for people over 60 years of age.

An assessment of the Omicron boosters is awaited.

Three vaccinations provide excellent protection against a severe course in healthy people under the age of 60.

Virologist Hendrik Streeck

Lauterbach, however, expects a quick start of corona vaccinations with the adapted vaccine.

"Following the European regulatory agency's decision, we now have several outstandingly effective vaccines to combat the fall wave," he said earlier this week on the sidelines of a visit to Tel Aviv.

“Both the BA.1 and BA.5 vaccines are suitable for this.

So we have two very good adapted vaccines that we can offer and will therefore be able to vaccinate everyone who wants to be vaccinated in the next few weeks Infection."

The virologist Hendrik Streeck, on the other hand, does not want to be vaccinated against Corona a fourth time.

"I will not be vaccinated against Corona again this fall because I have now been vaccinated three times and was infected once in the summer," said Streeck of the 

.

His immune responses are “strong enough” and the infection acts like an “additional booster.

A fourth vaccination would not have been necessary for me if I had not had an infection, even if the number of infections should rise sharply again in autumn and winter,” he explained, referring to the Stiko recommendation: “Three vaccinations protect healthy people from under 60 years excellent against a severe course."