Coronavirus: Amid new emerging variants, will we need a variant-specific booster shot?

Growing evidence suggests that the new coronavirus variant Omicron is highly transmissible and infectious. The sudden surge in the number of COVID-19 cases around the world is proof enough to suggest the same.

Moreover, the variant of concern is said to have around 50 mutations, over 30 of which are believed to be in the spike protein. Experts claim that such heavy mutations help the variant to develop an immune-escape mechanism, aiding it to evade vaccine-induced immunity.

In light of such speculations, many are doubtful of the existing COVID-19 vaccines and have begun questioning its efficacy.

Read also: Coronavirus: How Indian vaccines will fare against COVID's Omicron variant

Viruses are programmed to mutate and the SARs-COV-2 virus is no different from the others. As of now, multiple COVID variants exist around the world, with the Delta and now the Omicron wreaking more havoc than ever. That said, experts believe that there may be a need to update coronavirus vaccines just like the influenza shots.

Vaccine-manufacturing companies have come to the forefront and said that they could explore 'tweaking' COVID vaccines to make it more resilient and efficient against the new Omicron variant.

BioNTech, Moderna and other drug companies have announced their plans to alter the vaccines to increase efficacy.

Reports suggest that the routine two doses of COVID-19 vaccines may not be sufficient enough to protect against the new variant Omicron. While it may still prevent severe illnesses and minimize the risk of hospitalization and death, the surge in the number of cases around the globe has shot up the demand for vaccine boosters.

Additionally, waning immunity is another growing concern of health officials around the world. Given that vaccine-induced immunity may wear off over time, a booster shot is likely to re-expose a person's immune system to the immunizing antigen, the memory of which may have been lost after the previous doses.

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US President's Chief Medical Advisor, Dr Anthony Fauci on Wednesday claimed that the currently available booster shots offer considerable protection against the Omicron variant and do not need to be replaced by a new, modified version of COVID vaccines.

During a White House Covid update, Dr. Fauci said, “Our booster vaccine regimens work against Omicron." “At this point, there is no need for a variant-specific booster,” he clarified. Furthermore, Fauci said that the protection from the two-dose vaccine against infection has fallen to 33% as compared to 80% before the emergence of Omicron. However, two doses are still 70% effective at preventing hospitalization in omicron patients in South Africa, he adds.

That said, a booster shot has become the need of the hour. Whether a variant-oriented shot is needed or not is yet to be seen and considered.

As per UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the third additional dose of COVID vaccine may provide 70 to 75 percent protection against symptomatic infection from the Omicron variant.

Anurag Agrawal, All India Director at CSIR Institute Of Genomics and Integrative Biology, also believes that booster shots can protect against the Omicron variant. In an interview with Outlook, he said, "We have seen that vaccine efficacy against severe disease went down to 70-80 per cent during the Delta wave for healthcare workers. We know that in previously uninfected people, the third dose of Covishield leads to about double the response of two doses. There are useful models from a meta-analysis of trials that suggest that such a doubling of immune response will lead to 10-15 per cent increase in efficacy."

However, currently, the primary focus of the Indian government is to vaccinate 100 percent of the country's population with both the doses of COVID-19 vaccines. This then could be followed by the administration of vaccine boosters, if the government is open to it.