A new study from Columbia University says the COVID-19 omicron variant is “markedly resistant” to vaccines, antibody treatments, and that booster shots possibly provide only limited protection against the virus.
The study, led by renowned researcher Dr. David Ho, has not been reviewed by other experts or edited by a scientific journal.
“We found (omicron) to be markedly resistant to neutralization in individuals vaccinated with one of the four widely used COVID-19 vaccines, ” reads the study.
The Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center released the study on Wednesday, December 15, 2021, which has shifted its focus to combatting COVID.
Here are some of the main takeaways from the study:
- Antibody therapies that have been effective in neutralizing previous COVID waves appear to be much less effective against omicron.
- Natural antibodies from previous infections are not as effective at fighting off omicron.
- The study still suggests getting vaccinated and the booster shots to obtain some protection against omicron.
