Scientists race to answer the question: Will vaccines protect us against omicron?

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2021-12-06 20:00:09

Researchers in Botswana and South Africa just detected the omicron variant a few weeks ago, but already many scientists are predicting that the efficacy of the vaccines will likely take a hit, probably a big hit, when it comes to stopping infections of omicron. And more breakthrough infections will likely occur if (and that's a big if) omicron spreads here in the U.S.

At the same time, there's hope that vaccines will still offer good protection against severe disease and hospitalization, especially with a third dose.

The answer lies in a study published back in September which, in many ways, predicted the emergence of a variant like omicron — that is, a variant with an exceptionally large number of mutations. The study also offers critical insights about how well vaccines will work against omicron.

In the study, published in Nature, the scientists were trying to understand how SARS-CoV-2 learns to outsmart people's antibodies — the body's key defense against viral infections.

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