No Need For Omicron Variant Specific Booster Shot: White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr Fauci

"Our booster vaccine regimens work against Omicron. At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster," Fauci was quoted by Reuters. 

Chief Medical Advisor to the US president Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks during the daily briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. (Courtesy: AFP)

New Delhi: Infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday in a press briefing at the White House that a booster shot specific to the Omicron variant is not needed as the booster shots available now are effective enough to prevent hospitalization. 

"Our booster vaccine regimens work against Omicron. At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster," Fauci was quoted by Reuters. 

He added that as per the data shared by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the immunity provided by the two doses of the Moderna’s vaccine is “substantially lower” against the Omicron variant. 

However, a booster shot after three weeks is “well within the range of neutralizing Omicron.” According to Reuters, the three vaccines in use currently, i.e. BioNTech, Pfizer, and J&J, are significantly less protective against the Omicron, but the booster shot restores the immunity. 

“If you look at two weeks post the third dose, note the substantial degree of elevation of the neutralizing title; well within the range of neutralizing Omicron,” Dr. Fauci said at the conference.

In the same press briefing, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said that “Early data suggests that Omicron is more transmissible than Delta, with a doubling time of about two days.” Although the Delta variant remains responsible for most of the infections, she added. 

The Omicron variant has been confirmed in as many as 77 countries and is spreading rapidly, as per World Health Organization. Although the reported infections of Omicron show mild symptoms, WHO has warned countries to be cautious as  it is spreading “at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant.” So far, one death has been reported due to Omicron in the United Kingdom.