Opinion: There are risks in bringing forward boosters; we need to play the long game
In the last few weeks, we’ve learned a lot about the Omicron variant. It has spread very quickly, first in South Africa and now in Britain and Denmark, with cases reported in many other countries. NSW is now seeing the early stages of an Omicron surge, and cases have been reported in most other parts of Australia.
A small study from Britain has been cited as evidence that boosters provide strong protection against Omicron. It suggests that vaccine protection against infection with Omicron is lower than against the Delta variant, but is higher in those who received boosters than in those who have not. How protective the vaccine is against infection can be different from how protective it is against severe disease. One unpublished study from South Africa suggests that those who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine were only 30 per cent less likely to be infected, but were 70 per cent less likely to be hospitalised.
There are also risks in bringing forward boosters. In general, booster doses of vaccine given early are not expected to provide protection for as long as if they are given later. Providing a booster of the original vaccine now may interfere with later variant vaccines.
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