Thread by @sailorrooscout

A new study shows Omicron infection ENHANCES neutralizing immunity against Delta, ESPECIALLY in those who are vaccinated, suggesting that Omicron will help push Delta out, as it should DECREASE likelihood that someone infected with Omicron will get re-infected with Delta. 🧵

Source for the information above can be found here:
•secureservercdn.net/50.62.198.70/1…
•

https://twitter.com/sigallab/status/1475584463941914635?s=21

Researchers enrolled both previously vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the Omicron infection wave in South Africa soon after symptom onset. They then measured their ability to neutralize both Omicron and Delta virus at enrollment versus

a median of 14 days after enrollment. Neutralization of Omicron INCREASED 14-fold over this time, showing a developing antibody response to the variant.

Importantly, there was an ENHANCEMENT of Delta virus neutralization, which INCREASED 4.4-fold. This increase in Delta variant neutralization in individuals infected with Omicron may result in decreased ability of Delta to re-infect those individuals.

NOTE: In contrast, Delta-elicited antibodies escape neutralization by Omicron. In addition, if you look at unvaccinated individuals in this study, with a detectable Ct value at admission, they have a relatively weak response against Delta following Omicron infection.

THIS is why it is important to make sure you are VACCINATED. Get protected. DON’T WALK AROUND IMMUNE NAIVE.

Along with emerging data indicating that Omicron, at this time in the pandemic, is less pathogenic than Delta, such an outcome may have positive implications in terms of decreasing the COVID-19 burden of severe disease and the disruption COVID-19 has caused may begin to subside.