Omicron: Five recommendations from scientists to beat new Covid variant

Raising antibody levels should be the cornerstone of the strategy, says UK vaccine committee

Indian students apply the finishing touches to paintings created to raise awareness of the variant in Mumbai. Reuters

International travellers wearing personal protective equipment arrive at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport as Australia records its first cases of the Omicron variant. AFP

A greeting at the international terminal of Sydney Airport, as countries respond to the new variant. Reuters

A sign asking people to wear face coverings in a building in Manhattan as the newly discovered Omicron variant appears in countries around the world. AFP

Tourists wave as the ‘Europa’ passenger liner arrives in South African waters off Cape Town as the new coronavirus variant Omicron spreads in other countries. Reuters

Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. Dutch health authorities said they have found another case of the Omicron Covid-19 variant among passengers arriving from South Africa, bringing the country’s total to 14. AFP

Pupils wear face masks in Beijing. Despite the global worry, scientists say it remains unclear whether the Omicron variant is more dangerous than other strains of the virus. AP

People wearing face masks in Manhattan. New York's governor has declared a state of emergency due to the risk of a surge of Covid-19 cases as winter sets in. AFP

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid meets a member of staff at a vaccine centre in Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, London. Getty Images

A sign points the way to a Covid-19 test centre at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. AFP

Narita International Airport in Japan is quiet after travel was restricted to prevent the spread of Omicron. Reuters

A PCR test at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. AFP

Soekarno Hatta International airport. Indonesia has banned the arrival of travellers who have recently been in eight southern African countries. Reuters

Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok after Thailand banned entry from eight southern African countries due to the Omicron variant. Reuters

Travellers wear personal protective equipment outside the international terminal at Sydney Airport, Australia. Reuters

Passengers wearing protective gear at Incheon International Airport in South Korea, where health authorities have imposed an entry ban on foreign arrivals from eight African countries, including South Africa. EPA

Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. The Israeli government approved a 14-day ban on foreign arrivals over concerns about Omicron. EPA

Travellers queuing in the hope of boarding an overbooked Lufthansa flight at Cape Town International Airport. Antonie Robertson / The National

Covid-stricken Czech President Milos Zeman sits in a plastic cage as he appoints Petr Fiala as Prime Minister, near Prague. AFP

Tourists checking in at Cape Town International Airport in South Africa. Antonie Robertson / The National

Several airlines have stopped flying out of South Africa amid the spread of the new variant, causing disruption at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. Reuters

Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Two cases of the recently discovered Omicron variant were detected in New South Wales. EPA

Passengers, many not wearing face coverings, on the London Underground. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said mandatory mask-wearing would return to shops and public transport in England but there are concerns over how the rule will be enforced. AFP

A stroll, with face masks, in Biarritz, south-western France. French Health Minister Olivier Veran said France had no confirmed cases of the Omicron variant and was not changing its strategy of increasing vaccinations and booster shots. AP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty during a press conference on the variant in London. Reuters

Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron

The UK government on Monday outlined its strategy to contend with the “new kid on the block” — the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Already travel bans have been imposed on countries in southern Africa where Omicron was first identified, and PCR testing reintroduced for everyone entering the UK, regardless of their vaccination status.

Britain's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van Tam emphasised “the very high degree of current uncertainty in our knowledge".

“There are far more things we don't know yet than things we do,” he said, although he revealed “heightened concerns” over the variant's ability to evade vaccines.

While Omicron has an “elevated growth rate” compared with its viral antecedents, Prof Van Tam said it as yet unclear whether this meant it was more transmissible.

With so many unknowns and imponderables, formulating the most effective response at both national and international level is challenging.

However, by combining the history of coronavirus with the principles of vaccinology and immunology, scientists from the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation have formulated five recommendations to combat the Omicron thread.

1. Extend Covid booster programme to all adults aged 18 and above

The importance of a booster has never been greater, according to Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 Chair for JCVI.

“From what we know about the Omicron variants so far, it may be that the vaccines that we have at the moment may be less good than against the current circulating Delta variant,” he said.

Yet far from marginalising the current vaccine crop, he said it made it all the more important people “increased the strength of their immune response” by being boosted with them.

The rationale is simple: the more antibodies someone has in their system, the stronger their immune response will be, even in the event of a vaccine-variant mismatch.

To date, 17,896,864 out the 68.4 million people in the UK have received their booster or third doses, showing the race to get boosted is well and truly on.

2. Prioritise Covid booster shots by risk and reduce dose gap

The UK's health service vaccine programme has always used risk as its prioritisation metric. In other words, those most at risk such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions have been prioritised for vaccination.

Prof Lim said this approach would now be applied to the booster roll-out.

“We have not seen any data to suggest a new variant is in any way different from previous in terms of who is most at risk of severe disease,” he said.

“As we know the elderly and [people with] underlying health conditions are at higher risk of severe disease. And so we want to protect them as a priority.”

Prof Lim also said the gap between receiving the second dose of a vaccine and a booster will be reduced to three months from five.

The shortened time frame is based on concerns over a new Omicron-spawned wave washing over the UK before much of its population has a sufficient number of antibodies.

“With any vaccine during a pandemic, we get the greatest benefit both for individuals and society if the vaccine is deployed before the wave starts,” said Prof Lim.

“I'm not predicting that there will be a wave of the new variant but should there be a wave, we want to be in the best possible position.”

3. Severely immunocompromised to get Covid booster now

People with severely compromised immunity were placed on a different vaccine schedule to those with more normal immune responses at the start of the vaccine roll-out.

Most of this cohort will already have received three doses, and for them, the booster shot will be their fourth.

Prof Lim said the booster should again be received no sooner than three months after their last primary dose.

4. Pfizer or Moderna the preferred booster shot

The UK continues to mandate the use of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines.

Dr June Raine of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said all had “overwhelmingly positive benefit risk balance in their licence to use.”

Only Pfizer and Moderna of the three are being recommended as Covid boosters.

This has nothing to do with the furore around blood clots allegedly caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine, and everything to do the strength of the immune response generated, which is greater in the two mRNA vaccines.

Prof Lim said those unable to have mRNA vaccines should still have the AstraZeneca jab as their booster as it gives a “good boost” and the JCVI would rather people have a boost than none at all.

5. Children aged 12-15 to get second vaccine dose

The issue of vaccinating children has become a cause celebre for those who believe the government's Covid-19 response has been a case of overreach.

Undeterred by the sceptics, the JCVI is now recommending that children between the ages of 12 and 15 are moved on to the same vaccination schedule as those aged 16 and 17.

This means they will receive 30mg of Pfizer, 12 weeks after their first dose.

“We are closely watching the emerging data on Omicron, and if there is a need to advise that the dose interval between doses one and two for children should be altered, then we will do so,” said Prof Lim.