Infection with omicron variant would increase neutralizing immunity against delta, explains recent study

Infection with the omicron variant of SARS-Cov-2 creates a neutralizing immune response against delta, which may make reinfection with the latter less likely.

If this lower capacity of delta to infect those who have passed omicron is added to the data that indicate that the new variant, at this moment, it is less pathogenic, this result can have positive implications in terms of decreasing the covid-19 burden of severe disease.

Study leader Alex Sigal of the African Health Research Institute (South Africa) indicated that if “omicron turns out to be less pathogenic, this may show that the course of the pandemic has changed.” “Ómicron will take control, at least for now, and we may have less disruption in our lives. “

The research, carried out with a small sample of patients, was published in the MedRxiv repository, in which the texts are still have not been reviewed by other experts.

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Omicron infections are spreading rapidly around the world, often even in the face of high levels of delta cases and it is not yet clear how these two variants will interact.

“Increased neutralization of the delta variant in omicron-infected individuals may lead to a decrease delta capacity for reinfect those individuals”Said the Sigal.

The study analyzed plasma from 15 previously vaccinated people and unvaccinated that passed the covid-19 during the great wave of infections in South Africa with the emergence of omicron.

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The objective was to check the capacity of the antibodies to control both variants in the laboratory, which is known as a test of “neutralization”, which was performed around the time they had the first symptoms and fourteen days later.

As expected, the results show a developing antibody response to omicron, with neutralization that multiplied by 14 during this time.

But, in addition, it was seen that they developed greater immunity against delta variant, with an increase in the neutralization of the latter of 4.4 times.

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The study also indicates that vaccinated participants they were able to mount a better neutralizing response against delta, while the response in the unvaccinated was more variable.

Rather, the study notes, omicron escapes immunity neutralizing agent caused by delta and, therefore, can re-infect individuals already infected by it.

These results are consistent with the fact that omicron istea displacing delta, since it can provoke an immunity that neutralizes the latter.

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The implications of this displacement would depend on whether omicron is actually less pathogenic than delta. “If so, the incidence of severe disease covid-19 would be reduced and the infection could shift to be less disruptive to individuals and society,” the authors conclude. (I)