Thread by @sailorrooscout

Preliminary data on Omicron and whether it escapes vaccine antibodies shows immune escape is “robust” but NOT complete- it’s partial! Reduction in nAbs was even LESS in those who had a previous infection & two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine. Boosters should be able to take this on!🧵

VERY prelimary data so numbers subject to change but live virus studies show a 20-40 fold reduction in nAbs with two doses of Pfizer’s vaccine. ONLY TWO. This is NOT regarding boosters. CRUCIAL point: the reduction was not total. It’s partial. I know the number sounds alarming-

BUT that DOES NOT mean 40%-60% decrease in vaccine efficacy! Please don’t get confused. I told you guys these vaccines could take a hit and still hold up. Now, let’s continue.

In samples of participants who had been previously infected and vaccinated with two doses (HYBRID IMMUNITY for the WIN!) escape was REDUCED suggesting boosters could have a significant effect!

IMPORTANT NOTE: those previously infected in this study were infected with the ancestral strain (D614G)! NOT Beta or Delta.

TLDR: GET BOOSTED. We CAN beat this. It is NOT complete immune escape so make sure you are protected! I’ll help answer any and all questions that I can. You can find this study here, under the preprints section: sigallab.net

NOTE: This is in regards to INFECTION and reduction in neutralizing antibodies. NOT VE. NOT SEVERE DISEASE. This also does not take into account T-cells or cell-mediated immunity. Remember, boosters not only RESTORE protection against infection, they EXCEED it.

MORE PRELIMINARY DATA. Another study that just came out shows only a mean 7-fold reduction in neutralizing antibody titers against Omicron. Again, immune escape is NOT COMPLETE- it’s partial! Get boosted! This is manageable. See: drive.google.com/file/d/1CuxmNY…

https://twitter.com/benjmurrell/status/1468341478363746310?s=21

MORE PRELIMINARY DATA.
•The % figures DO NOT EQUATE TO VACCINE EFFICACY, just nAbs
•Two doses is not enough against Omicron
•Boosters are ESSENTIAL
•As expected, 3X Pfizer looks similar to 2X Pfizer plus previous infection
•This is ONLY vs. INFECTION, NOT SEVERE DISEASE

https://twitter.com/cieseksandra/status/1468465347519041539

REMEMBER: this is in regards to INFECTION ONLY. The encouraging part of all this in a sense is that Omicron symptoms thus far have been far milder as observed to date in South Africa & other countries which likely point to vaccines retaining their efficacy against severe disease.

•NO. This DOES NOT mean the vaccines are 40X less effective.
•NO. This doesn’t mean the protection of the vaccines is down to 0%.
•NO. You CANNOT get VE% from a neutralization assay.
•YES. Hybrid immunity AND boosters provide much better neutralization. Get protected!