Specific reinforcement against Ômicron is not needed now, says Fauci

Booster doses of currently available covid-19 vaccines work against the Ômicron variant of the coronavirus and there appears to be no need for specific boosters, US infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci said Wednesday.

"Our vaccine booster regimens work against Ômicron. At this point, there is no need for a strain-specific booster," Fauci told reporters in a White House interview.

He said the neutralizing activity of two doses of Moderna's vaccine is "substantially low" against Ômicron, citing data from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of which he is director.

"However, if you look two weeks after the third dose, you will notice the substantial degree of elevation of the neutralizing position; well within the neutralization range of Ômicron," he added, commenting on the results of the study that had the collaboration of Moderna.

BioNTech and Pfizer said last week that three doses of their vaccine were able to neutralize Ômicron in a laboratory test, but two doses resulted in significantly lower neutralizing antibodies.

J&J has yet to release any data of its own on the performance of its vaccine against the new strain of coronavirus.

All three covid-19 vaccines authorized in the US appear to be significantly less protective against Ômicron in laboratory tests, but a booster dose likely restores most of the protection, according to a study published on Tuesday (14).

Text translated using artificial intelligence.