COVID-19 vaccination plays a vital role in order for us to get back to our normal lives and free ourselves from fear of experiencing symptoms brought by the Coronavirus. Luckily, there has been a plethora of vaccines authorized by the government accessible in our area which have been proven safe and effective.
However, as the COVID-19 continuously mutates and develops a new variant, the protection that we can get from the vaccine grew weaker and became less effective.
It’s been almost a month since omicron hit the local news, but the variant has already been spreading across the Philippines.
According to Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary and country’s treatment czar Leopoldo Vega, COVID-19 cases in the country have doubled in recent days and that “this is the start and we are very sure that this will peak.”
Albeit, he said the Omicron variant is still not the most dominant variant in the country so far in terms of number of cases unlike other countries like US.
“Well, it looks like the Omicron wave is upon us. And we’ve seen this globally across South Africa and Europe and there has been a steady increase in our landscape here in the Philippines in terms of the Omicron,” Vega said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“Our numbers have doubled and this is the start and we are very sure that this will peak. When it will press down and decelerate, we don’t know, but what is very important is that we are prepared for this Omicron virus,” he added.
When asked if the DOH was certain that the rise in cases is due to the Omicron variant, Vega said the Delta variant is still the most dominant variant in the country in terms of number of cases.
“I think we have still the Delta around… but since we reported our first Omicron case way back December 5 and there has been a continuously increase in the sequencing of this Omicron virus, it looks like we will presume that the Omicron is here, but it’s still not dominant,” Vega said.
“I think in about three to four weeks, as predicted, the Omicron will be dominant in terms of 50% or 90% of the cases overtaking the Delta virus but the Delta virus definitely is still around with us,” he added.
However, there’s a way to help protect yourself against symptomatic and severe illness: booster shots.
Most recently, Moderna announced that its COVID-19 vaccine boosters showed a significant increase in antibody levels against omicron in preliminary lab trials. While Pfizer announced similar results earlier this month, offering additional gift of hope prior the holidays that the mRNA boosters provide protection against the omicron variant.
If you received an mRNA vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna, you’re eligible for a booster six months after your second dose. Recipients of Johnson & Johnson’s one-shot vaccine are booster-eligible after just two months.
Albeit Moderna and Pfizer’s lab trial numbers are very promising, it’s unclear how those results will translate to fighting omicron in the real world. But recent studies based on emerging real-world data show that Pfizer’s boosters provide roughly 75% protection against symptomatic omicron infection.
In other studies based on real-world data, that number rises to 85% protection against severe disease and hospitalization, according to world-renowned virologist and Columbia University professor Dr. David Ho.
In other words: Even if you test positive, you’re far less likely to experience Covid symptoms — particularly those severe enough to hospitalize or kill you — if you’re boosted. “The real protection of the vaccine [booster] is largely against disease, and not against acquisition of infection,” Ho says.
Omicron is twice as contagious as delta, according to models and epidemiologists from the U.K., Ho says. And a recent study which Ho conducted on the variant shows that it is “markedly resistant” to the antibodies found in even fully vaccinated people who aren’t yet boosted.
″[Omicron] is going to rip right through the population,” says Ho. “Those who are vaccinated and boosted are largely going to do OK, even if infected. Those who are vaccinated and not boosted probably will have it slightly worse. But I really fear for those who are not vaccinated.”
Moderna’s booster has a higher dosage than Pfizer’s, but the results seem to be “quite similar,” HO says.
With mRNA vaccines, you’ll reach peak protection roughly two or three weeks post-booster. The antibodies you’ll gain from the booster will eventually wane over time, and scientists are still working to learn how long your peak protection will last.
Ho, one of the scientists studying that question, says early results show that your booster’s protection could decrease at a similar rate to your second vaccine dose.
“The waning that’s been seen so far [after the original two shot regimen], you would lose half your level by two months, so a half life of two months,” he says.
At some point, Ho says, you’ll probably need another booster shot — echoing Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who told the news CNBC that omicron’s spread could accelerate the need for a fourth shot. But, Ho stresses, it’s far too early to know what that extra dose’s timing will look like.
On Sunday, the Philippines recorded 4,600 new COVID-19 cases — the highest recorded since Oct. 24, 2021.
Reference:
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/21/omicron-expert-why-covid-vaccine-booster-shots-are-so-important.html
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