Written By: Satata Karmakar | Updated : June 27, 2022 11:31 AM IST
Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 Variant Can Evade Immunity, Infect Fully Vaccinated: Study
Are you fully vaccinated against COVID-19? The highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 variants can still infect you. In a recent study, experts have stated that highly virulent omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 have the ability to avoid immunity induced by both previous Covid infection and vaccination. According to the experts, this characteristic of the sub-lineages can help the variant become dominant and lead to a fresh wave in the upcoming days,
Last month, scientists at the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) in South Africa detected the two new sub-variants of the highly contagious Omicron variant. Taking to Twitter, Tulio de Oliveira, Director of CERI wrote about the distinct features of these two sub-variants of Omicron. "BA.4 and BA.5 are estimated to have originated in mid-December 2021 and early January 2022, respectively," she wrote.
In the study, the authors stated that they saw an eight-fold drop in neutralising antibody production among fully vaccinated people when tested against the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages.
"The low absolute neutralisation levels for BA.4 and BA.5, particularly in the unvaccinated group, are unlikely to protect well against symptomatic infection," the researchers said in the study. They further added that this study can be considered an indication based on neutralisation escape, BA.4 and BA.5 have the potential to result in a new infection wave.
Omicron is so far the most mutated version of the COVID-19 virus. It has over 42 worrisome mutations in its spike protein which makes it capable of evading through the vaccine induced immunity. Take a look at some of the symptoms of this variant.
Here are some of the symptoms associated with the highly virulent BA.4 and BA.5 omicron variant of COVID-19 that you should never ignore:
(With inputs from agencies)
