Omicron Threat May Be Countered With Extra Dose of Vaccine (3)

The earliest studies on omicron are in and the glimpse they’re providing is cautiously optimistic: while vaccines like the one made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE may be less powerful against the new variant, protection can be fortified with boosters.

Research from South Africa, Sweden and Germany, as well as from the companies themselves, shows that omicron does cause a loss of immune protection -- but potentially not a complete one.

Pfizer and BioNTech said initial lab studies show a 25-fold reduction in neutralizing antibody levels versus the variant, compared with the original strain of the virus, in people ...