Current vaccines may not provide the same protection against omicrons, experts say

A new version of the coronavirus has been found and scientists call it “of great concern”.

Given the high number of mutations in this new variant, an urgent question arises: will vaccines still be effective against it?

Understand what is known so far about this. But a spoiler: vaccination remains crucial.

What is the new omicron variant?

There are thousands of different types—or variants—of Covid circulating around the world. This is to be expected because viruses mutate all the time.

But this new variant, called B.1.1.529 or omicron, has experts particularly concerned because it is so different from the original Covid, which was used as the basis for developing current available vaccines.

The new variant has a long list of genetic alterations — 50 in total. Of these, 32 are in the spike protein (or spike) of the virus — the part that connects the microorganism to the human cell to initiate the infection and is the target of vaccines like those from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Janssen

However, it is too early to know whether this poses a threat.

Do vaccines still work?

Vaccines such as those from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Janssen, which inject the spike protein into the human body to teach it how to fight the coronavirus, may not be ideal for defending against the new omicron variant, which has mutations in precisely this protein, experts say.

But that doesn’t mean these vaccines will offer zero protection.

CoronaVac, which is a traditional type vaccine, made from the entire inactivated Sars-CoV-2 virus, may have an advantage over the others, as it teaches the immune system to fight the entire virus, and not just the spike protein.

However, this is just speculation, as there is still a lack of conclusive research on the effectiveness of current vaccines in combating the new variant. But manufacturers have already announced that they can re-adapt their immunizers to combat omicron in up to 100 days, if necessary.

Meanwhile, current vaccines remain vitally important in protecting lives, reducing the risk of more severe disease manifestations and protecting against other important Covid variants, including delta, alpha, beta and gamma.

Doctors say it is critical that people receive the recommended number of doses to obtain maximum protection against existing and emerging variants.

In Brazil, the third dose of the vaccine was originally recommended for people over 60 years of age, immunosuppressed (people with some type of immune deficiency) and health professionals who had taken the second dose for more than six months.

However, a few weeks ago, the Ministry of Health announced that all Brazilians over 18 will be able to take the booster dose five months after taking the second dose.

So far, around 74% of the Brazilian population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

More than 62% had either the two doses or the Janssen vaccine. And just over 7% received the third dose, according to data from the coronavirusbra1 platform, which compiles records from the state health departments.

The moving average of deaths by Covid-19 has dropped considerably in recent months and is back to the levels of April 2020. According to experts, this is a result of the success of the vaccination.

How quickly can we get new vaccines against strains?

Updated versions of Covid variant vaccines are already being designed and tested, should they ever be needed.

If that time comes, a new vaccine could be ready in weeks to be tested.

Manufacturers can also ramp up production quickly, and regulators are already discussing how to speed up the approval process.

No steps would be skipped, but the entire process—from design to approval—can be much faster than when Covid vaccines were first released.

And the other variants?

Authorities closely watch some of them.

The potentially most dangerous ones are called “concern variants” (variant of concern, in the English expression) and include:

• Delta (B.1.617.2), first identified in India and now the most common type in circulation in the world, including Brazil

• Alpha (B.1.1.7), first identified in the UK, has spread to over 50 countries

• Beta (B.1.351), first identified in South Africa, has been detected in at least 20 other countries

• Range (P.1), first identified in Brazil, has spread to over ten other countries

International health authorities are also eyeing a recent descendant of the Delta variant, called AY.4.2 or “delta plus“.

How dangerous are the variants?

There is no evidence that any of them cause more serious illness for the vast majority of people.

As with the original Covid, the risk remains higher for elderly or comorbid people.

Even so, if a variant is more infectious, because it spreads faster, it will cause more deaths in the unvaccinated population.

Vaccines offer high protection against serious manifestations of Covid-19, including infections caused by strains of concern. Immunizers also reduce the risk of contracting the virus.

But they don’t completely eliminate all risk.

The guidance to avoid infections remains the same for all variants: wash your hands, keep your distance, wear a mask in closed and crowded places and ventilate the rooms.

Why are variants emerging?

Viruses make copies of themselves to reproduce, but they’re not perfect at it. Errors can happen in this process, resulting in a new version or variant.

If that gives the virus a survival advantage, the new version thrives.

The more chances the coronavirus has to make copies of itself in us—the host—the more opportunities there are for mutations to occur.

That’s why it’s important to control infections. Vaccines help reduce transmission and also protect against severe forms of Covid.

Experts say it’s possible that the new B.1.1.529 or omicron variant may have originated in a patient whose immune system was unable to get rid of a Covid infection quickly, giving the virus more time to mutate.