Whilst the numbers of Omicron infections post vaccine booster dose are small (15 out of 541), it raises an important question about viral evasion. Vaccine boosters are associated with up to 10 times higher serum antibody levels and should in theory not be associated with infection.
If the virus can still replicate in the presence of high antibody levels, will there be an appropriate immune response to the new infection?
Can boosters stop the virus (Omicron variant) spreading to the lungs in that infected cohort?
Why only 115 out of 541 Omicron cases were unvaccinated?
Should we apply caution at this point with using vaccine boosters based on the original spike protein from Wuhan?
There are no clear answers at present but is waiting associated with a greater risk?
PODCAST: Can Omicron overcome the vaccine booster?