The doctor specializing in infectious diseases underestimated the importance of developing new vaccines to counter the new mutation, and reduce the risks due to the possibility of infection.
She explained: “It is a good idea, but it is frankly not practical, especially since we will not be able to speed up vaccines in time and by the time the vaccines come, almost everyone will be infected with omicron due to the high rate of infection and transmissibility.”
However, some clinicians believe that current vaccines will be able to provide some protection against the new alternative.
Our bodies generate “a whole range of different antibodies” in response to vaccines, said Sera Madad, a fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, explaining that our current vaccines will hold up to some extent, with this new alternative.
Madad cited the validity of his belief in the ability of vaccines to provide protection against the delta mutant, saying: “The new mutant may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccine by two degrees, but this is not yet clear.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, on its official website, that the “delta” variant is twice as contagious than the previous variants.
Most of the concerns about “Omicron” relate to the number of mutations it possesses, as it contains 50 mutations, 32 of which are found in the spike protein, which is found on the surface of the Corona virus, which most vaccines simulate to create an immune response against the virus.