Virus

Lot of people seem to have remarkably confident and clear views on where we're headed with Omicron.

I've spent the last 48 hours immersed in the data and speaking to doctors and public health officials in South Africa, and I've done two complete 180s since this morning

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) December 7, 2021

our first data for neutralization of Omicron versus Delta is done: 2x Biontech, 2x Moderna, 1xAZ / 1x Biontech after 6 months 0% neutralization with Omicron, also 3x Biontech 3 months after booster only 25% NT versus 95% with Delta. Up to 37 times the reduction in Delta vs. Omicron
The monoclonal ABs imdevimab and casirivimab are - as expected - ineffective with Omicron
The data confirm that developing a vaccine adapted for Omicron makes sense.
These data cannot say anything about whether you are still protected against a severe course (keyword T-cells).
Additional information: the experiments were carried out with a virus isolate (infectious virus), not with pseudoviruses.

Bad early signal—The 7-day average coronavirus level found in Boston-area wastewater has now reached their highest levels since the start of the pandemic. Wastewater always precedes a wave. #COVID19 https://t.co/Zy1v7sIk9j pic.twitter.com/cHP387yfZ4

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 8, 2021

According to the article: "Cambridge-based Biobot Analytics, which analyzes the samples, says it has found that the amount of virus in the waste water is correlated with newly diagnosed coronavirus cases four to 10 days later."

— Kurt Huang (@micropatronage) December 8, 2021

Iako imete ogorman broj novozaraženih, smrtnost se nije povećala i smatra se da je tri puta manja a možda i više. Kao kada imate izbore pa imate prve izborne podatke na malom uzorku, ovo jasno govori u kom pravcu idu trendovi, zaključio je Šekler.

Cousin Billy wrote:Izrazito neoprezna i neodgovorna izjava Šeklera

juce pomenem na poslu da nas moguce ceka novi talas pre kraja godine, i to krajnje odmereno, bez ikakve elaboracije. svi skoce na mene da mi objasne da je ovo zavrseno, da je virus oslabljen i da ne mracim.

kako i ne bi, to je preovladjujuci stav nasih medija, a i strucnjaka bogami.

ovaj talas cemo docekati jos manje spremni nego prethodne. iako je delovalo nemoguce.

First seroneutralisation tests performed by @sigallab
show large drop in efficacy of Pfizer vaccine but suggest better outcome when also previously infected. Hope that 3d booster shot could also partially restore protection. Clear confirmation that Omicron is an escape mutant. https://t.co/BZY0ZcdWTb

— Tom Wenseleers (@TWenseleers) December 7, 2021

These data imply that a 3rd dose (40x increase) roughly cancels out Omicron's evasion (40x decrease). And that fully boosted people will have a protection only equivalent to a two-dose regimen after waning. Which is also the conclusion I came to based on the epidemiologcal data.

— Tom Wenseleers (@TWenseleers) December 8, 2021

rumbeando wrote:

Lot of people seem to have remarkably confident and clear views on where we're headed with Omicron.

I've spent the last 48 hours immersed in the data and speaking to doctors and public health officials in South Africa, and I've done two complete 180s since this morning

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) December 7, 2021

PFIZER AND BIONTECH PROVIDE UPDATE ON OMICRON VARIANT
Wednesday, December 08, 2021 - 06:54am

- Preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers
- Data indicate that a third dose of BNT162b2 increases the neutralizing antibody titers by 25-fold compared to two doses against the Omicron variant; titers after the booster dose are comparable to titers observed after two doses against the wild-type virus which are associated with high levels of protection
- As 80% of epitopes in the spike protein recognized by CD8+ T cells are not affected by the mutations in the Omicron variant, two doses may still induce protection against severe disease
- The companies continue to advance the development of a variant-specific vaccine for Omicron and expect to have it available by March in the event that an adaption is needed to further increase the level and duration of protection – with no change expected to the companies’ four billion dose capacity for 2022

NEW YORK & MAINZ, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX) today announced results from an initial laboratory study demonstrating that serum antibodies induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (BNT162b2) neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant after three doses. Sera obtained from vaccinees one month after receiving the booster vaccination (third dose of BNT162b2 vaccine) neutralized the Omicron variant to levels that are comparable to thoseobserved for the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein after two doses.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211208005542/en/
Sera from individuals who received two doses of the current COVID-19 vaccine did exhibit, on average, more than a 25-fold reduction in neutralization titers against the Omicron variant compared to wild-type, indicating that two doses of BNT162b2 may not be sufficient to protect against infection with the Omicron variant. However, as the vast majority of epitopes targeted by vaccine-induced T cells are not affected by the mutations in Omicron, the companies believe that vaccinated individuals may still be protected against severe forms of the disease and are closely monitoring real world effectiveness against Omicron, globally.
A more robust protection may be achieved by a third dose as data from additional studies of the companies indicate that a booster with the current COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech increases the antibody titers by 25-fold. According to the companies’ preliminary data, a third dose provides a similar level of neutralizing antibodies to Omicron as is observed after two doses against wild-type and other variants that emerged before Omicron. These antibody levels are associated with high efficacy against both the wild-type virus and these variants. A third dose also strongly increases CD8+ T cell levels against multiple spike protein epitopes which are considered to correlate with the protection against severe disease. Compared to the wild-type virus, the vast majority of these epitopes remain unchanged in the Omicron spike variant.
“Although two doses of the vaccine may still offer protection against severe disease caused by the Omicron strain, it’s clear from these preliminary data that protection is improved with a third dose of our vaccine,” said Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer. “Ensuring as many people as possible are fully vaccinated with the first two dose series and a booster remains the best course of action to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
“Our preliminary, first dataset indicate that a third dose could still offer a sufficient level of protection from disease of any severity caused by the Omicron variant,” said Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech. “Broad vaccination and booster campaigns around the world could help us to better protect people everywhere and to get through the winter season. We continue to work on an adapted vaccine which, we believe, will help to induce a high level of protection against Omicron-induced COVID-19 disease as well as a prolonged protection compared to the current vaccine.”
While these results are preliminary, the companies will continue to collect more laboratory data and evaluate real-world effectiveness to assess and confirm protection against Omicron and inform the most effective path forward. On November 25, the companies started to develop an Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine. The development will continue as planned in the event that a vaccine adaption is needed to increase the level and duration of protection against Omicron. First batches of the Omicron-based vaccine can be produced and are planned to be ready for deliveries within 100 days, pending regulatory approval. Pfizer and BioNTech have tested other variant-specific vaccines as well, which have produced very strong neutralization titers and a tolerable safety profile. Based on this experience the companies have high confidence that if needed they can deliver an Omicron-based vaccine in March 2022. The companies have also previously initiated clinical trials with variant-specific vaccines (Alpha, Beta, Delta & Alpha/Delta Mix) and data from these studies will be submitted to regulatory agencies around the world to help accelerate the process of adapting the vaccine and gaining regulatory authorization or approval of an Omicron-specific vaccine, if needed. The companies have previously announced that they expect to produce four billion doses of BNT162b2 in 2022, and this capacity is not expected to change if an adapted vaccine is required.
About the Pfizer-BioNTech Laboratory Studies
To evaluate the effectiveness of BNT162b2 against the Omicron variant, Pfizer and BioNTech immediately tested a panel of human immune sera obtained from the blood of individuals that received two or three 30-µg doses of the current Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, using a pseudovirus neutralization test (pVNT The sera were collected from subjects 3 weeks after receiving the second dose or one month after receiving the third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Each serum was tested simultaneously for its neutralizing antibody titer against the wild-type SARS-Cov-2 spike protein, and the Omicron spike variant. The third dose significantly increased the neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron strain spike by 25-fold. Neutralization against the Omicron variant after three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was comparable to the neutralization against the wild-type strain observed in sera from individuals who received two doses of the companies’ COVID-19 vaccine: The geometric mean titer (GMT) of neutralizing antibody against the Omicron variant measured in the samples was 154 (after three doses), compared to 398 against the Delta variant (after three doses) and 155 against the ancestral strain (after two doses). Data on the persistence of neutralizing titers over time after a booster dose of BNT162b2 against the Omicron variant will be collected.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which is based on BioNTech’s proprietary mRNA technology, was developed by both BioNTech and Pfizer. BioNTech is the Marketing Authorization Holder in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries and the holder of emergency use authorizations or equivalents in the United States (jointly with Pfizer) and other countries. Submissions to pursue regulatory approvals in those countries where emergency use authorizations or equivalent were initially granted are planned.

MNE wrote:13.74
12.05
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15.87
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13.09% prosjek, pad za skoro 10%

Denmark introduced a light version of the lockdown it had last winter as the omicron variant spreads across the Nordic country https://t.co/HjjdeXauWQ

— Bloomberg (@business) December 8, 2021

Vaccine passports and work from home - New Covid rules in England to fight Omicron
England will be moving to 'Plan B' in a bid to tackle the rising number of Covid-19 cases as the Omircon variant continues to spread throughout the UK.

More than 40 people in the U.S. have been found to be infected with the omicron variant so far, and more than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated, the chief of the CDC said Wednesday. But she said nearly all of them were only mildly ill. (...)
She said “the disease is mild” in almost all of the cases seen so far, with reported symptoms mainly cough, congestion and fatigue. One person was hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported, CDC officials said.

Probable Omicron numbers continue to grow steeply
6.4% of swabs from 6th December are SGTF
This increase represents an R-value of 4.06 (CI 3.25, 5.06)
A doubling time of 2.5 days
Cases are spread widely, although many areas in and around London have relatively high numbers pic.twitter.com/WjOlLWYehM

— Alastair Grant (@AlastairGrant4) December 8, 2021

Here’s how the share of cases ending up in hospital has evolved over time in the UK.

Strangely enough the headlines were not all saying "data suggests Delta is milder than Alpha" pic.twitter.com/M2dOkSWNyl

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) December 9, 2021

Absolutely. It could end up being inherently less severe! But zero evidence for that so far, whereas growing evidence (and huge amount of science) suggesting immunity is playing the key role.

— John Burn-Murdoch (@jburnmurdoch) December 9, 2021