Fauci Says Boosters Curb Omicron, Sees No Need for Specific Shot

17 Dec 2021, 12:39 AM IST

Anthony Fauci. (Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Existing booster shots hold up well against the omicron variant of Covid-19 and there’s no need yet to develop specialized vaccines to fight it, federal health officials said.

“Our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron,” said Anthony Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and serves as a medical adviser to President Joe Biden. “At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster.”

Vaccine makers Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE have been racing to prepare booster shots targeting omicron. But Fauci, during a briefing for reporters, made the case that specialized shots aren’t needed as he outlined data that show a sharp spike in immune protections after a Moderna or Pfizer booster.

Omicron makes up about 3% of cases nationally and more in certain areas, including an estimated 13% in New York and New Jersey, according to projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The U.S. is facing a winter surge that began even before omicron’s spread accelerated. It has prompted some businesses and colleges to put a halt to in-person sessions or return-to-office plans, but a pair of Biden officials on Wednesday ruled out new widespread restrictions.

Fauci cited an unpublished NIAID study showing that the level of neutralizing antibodies against omicron was 20 times higher after a third Moderna shot than after a second. It also showed a smaller drop in efficacy as compared to the original virus -- the antibody response to omicron was 37 times lower than the original virus after two shots, but only 6 times lower after a booster.

“These are encouraging initial data and Moderna is actively working on its three-part strategy to address the omicron variant,” the company said in a statement.

The U.S. has been urging vaccination and booster shots to protect against omicron as researchers await further data on its transmissibility, virulence and vaccine evasion.

“There is no need to lock down,” Biden’s Covid-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said Wednesday. “We’re going to keep our schools and our businesses open.”