COVID-19 Booster Shots Are Best Defense Against Omicron Variant

ACROSS AMERICA — Booster shots are the best defense against COVID-19 illnesses as the omicron variant of the coronavirus spreads across the country, according to health officials.

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases from the omicron variant — infections among the vaccinated — are less common among people who have received their third vaccination shots, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Because the omicron variant is so new, public health officials still have a lot to learn about it, but they say a prior COVID-19 infection doesn't seem to offer immunity to the omicron variant, though it may reduce the chances of severe illnesses, just as vacciantions do.

In South Africa, where omicron already has spread widely, scientists reported a jump in reinfections that they hadn’t seen when two previous mutants, including delta, moved through the country, The Associated Press reported.

A Friday report from the Imperial College of London found the risk of reinfection from omicron was five times higher compared to the earlier delta variant.

Health experts say anyone who’s survived a bout of COVID-19 still should get vaccinated, because the combination generally offers stronger protection.

Early reports in South Africa indicated that unvaccinated people aren't getting as sick with the omicron variant as with other strains, but health officials say it's too early to say because it's still unknown if that's because the population is fairly young, or if people retained some protection from a delta variant, according to the AP.

The Imperial College of London study found no evidence that omicron has been milder than delta in Britain, even with young adults — who would be expected to have milder illness — having higher rates of infection with omicron.

"There’s a hint, and I think many of us are hopeful, that omicron will be less severe. But I don’t think we can bet the farm on that. We’re still talking about SARS CoV-2, a virus that has killed millions of people,” Dr. Jacob Lemieux, who monitors variants for a research collaboration led by Harvard Medical School, told the AP.

The omicron variant has been detected in all but a handful of states.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said Friday the Pfizer and Moderna booster shots work well against the omicron variant and that there’s no need for a specific vaccine to fight it.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the omicron variant is likely to become the dominant coronavirus strain in the coming weeks. It currently represents 3 percent of new infections.

Public health officials are concerned that vaccination rates — currently 61 percent of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated, and only 28 percent have gotten booster shots — are insufficient to fend off a fifth wave of the coronavirus. COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are increasing, with about 120,000 new cases and 1,200 deaths reported each day, mainly from the delta variant.

The CDC says Pfizer and Moderna booster shots both provide increased protection against COVID-19 and helped prevent severe symptoms in breakthrough cases.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.