Why are people who have had COVID-19 and folks that have had a basic vaccination series (not including a booster) still getting Omicron? Unfortunately, Omicron is a mutated variant that is evading immunity for a variety of reasons. Keep reading to understand how our immune response works and why Omicron is evading it. (Source)
- After a natural infection or vaccination, our immune response produces immunizing antibodies (NAbs) in order to fight off any future infection.
- NAbs are able to identify the COVID-19 virus and attack it thus keeping individuals from ever suffering a detectable infection.
- NAbs are specific to the unique virus individuals were infected with, or the virus used to produce a specific vaccine.
- They are imperfect and each person’s immune system produces slight variations.
- This is part of why no vaccination is 100% effective; immune responses are complex and highly individualized and there is no one way to be 100% protected from future infection.
- With highly-mutated variants, such as Omicron, the virus is changed such that NAbs are unable to identify them.
- Omicron can escape roughly 85% of studied NAbs.
- Without the NAbs, your immune system still ‘remembers’ COVID-19 and will mount a better immune response thus keeping you from getting severely sick, but it will likely not be able to keep you from being infected.
Omicron and Boosters
A ‘booster’ or an additional dose of an mRNA, Pfizer or Moderna, vaccine has been shown to produce more NAbs that recognize Omicron than a basic vaccination series alone. However, Omicron is still able to evade some immune responses so it is possible to become infected with COVID-19 even after having received a booster or additional dose. Although the likelihood of you becoming severely sick is dramatically reduced. (Source)
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The Main Goal – Protect the Hospitals
Keeping the community healthy is obviously first and foremost, a close second is ensuring that hospitals have the ability to not only care for COVID-19 patients but provide medical support for normal emergencies like breaking a leg skiing, or having a heart attack. Getting vaccinated and boosted provides increased protection so we strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to do so; to protect themselves and the hospitals.
But wait! There is still more that you can do!
While vaccination remains a critical tool in combating COVID-19 and protecting yourself and others, adhering to the healthy best practices is yet another layer of protection. Mask up indoors or in crowds, stay home if sick, get tested if you have any symptoms (especially cold-like), wash hands often, and don’t travel unless you must.
