In an announcement this week, Pfizer announced its booster provides increased protection against the omicron COVID-19 variant. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence and epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed weighed in on NPR's Here and Now about the questions we ought to be asking about any COVID variant and what Pfizer's announcement means for getting a booster shot.
El-Sayed said, "is it more transmissible? is it more severe? And does it achieve vaccine escape? This answers that third answer to some respect"....“What they found is that the response among people who have had three doses to omicron is similar to the response of people who have had two doses to garden-variety COVID, though it is less than the response of three doses to Delta. All of that says that boosters are going to be critically important in terms of being able to stave off this oncoming omicron surge.”
