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Omicron can increase immunity against Delta only if vaccinated: WHO Chief Scientist

19 January, 2022 | Pragati Singh

WHO 1200x675 1 World Health Organization

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Chief Scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, noted that Omicron infection can boost Delta variant immunity, but only if you’ve been vaccinated against coro...

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Chief Scientist, Soumya Swaminathan, noted that Omicron infection can boost Delta variant immunity, but only if you’ve been vaccinated against coronavirus. However, if you have not had the vaccine, the same does not apply.

“So, infection is not a substitute for vaccination, as some are suggesting!”

This comes in response to a study that also suggests, Vaccination helps in the Omicron response. Despite the vaccinated individuals starting out with almost identical and low neutralization as the unvaccinated, their neutralization went higher.

Neutralizing immunity to Delta was boosted in the vaccinated. Not so in a subset of unvaccinated. In fact, based on neutralization, the vaccinated were better protected against Delta than Omicron. Again, not true for unvaccinated, the study stated.

“Neutralization of Omicron overall was not very high relative to what comes up with Delta infection (some of the results in this paper). Perhaps because of the milder course of Omicron.”

Hopefully, all this means Delta is on its way out as Omicron may shut the door on Delta re-infections. Provided enough people vaccinate. The unvaccinated lose out on the extra Omicron protection and don’t gain a boost to Delta. ir added.

The study will be soon published in medRxiv