Dr. Kon reveals whether vaccines work against Omicron strain and who gets infected most often

Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

Epidemiologist and member of the Crisis HQ Predrag Kon says that the efficiency and effectiveness of vaccines against the new strain of coronavirus will be somewhat lower, but not to a significant degree.

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According to him, the new strain of coronavirus Omicron is considered as concerning by the World Health Organization.

The strain has spread from South Africa to Europe and has been confirmed in 158 people in Europe.

"In a relatively short amount of time since November 11, when it was discovered, it started to dominate and that is a warning sign that change is possible, that it could go from the Delta to the Omicron strain. There are about 50 mutations, 32 of which are related to that spike protein, and 10 are related to the part that serves to bind to the cell and therefore is considered to have an increased transmission ability," Ko told TV Pink.

According to him, these two such changes were present in other strains, and now there are 10 for the first time.

"That can also mean that the other mutations it has act in such a way that it causes milder symptoms, theoretically," Kon stressed.

Speaking about the effect of the vaccines on the new strain, Kon said that according to what is currently known they are considered to be effective.

It is believed that the efficiency will be somewhat lower, but not significantly. However, these are all impressions and we have to wait a few weeks to see where things stand. There are no clinical studies on this topic. It's early, there is not enough data.

He added that people are most often infected after receiving two doses.

"The third dose provides enhanced protection, but we don't know for how long it will protect. It's likely that it will protect longer than the other. This combination also did not show any negative effects," Kon stressed and added that a third of the population has already received the third dose.

"Omicron is the last wake up call, especially for younger people who have not been vaccinated," concluded Dr. Kon.

(Telegraf.rs)