UK Researchers: "Booster Shot 85% Effective in Preventing Severe Omicron Cases"

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] A study has found that the booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine is about 85% effective in preventing severe illness in patients infected with the Omicron variant.

According to major foreign media on the 17th, researchers at Imperial College London (ICL) estimated through modeling research that the booster shot's effectiveness in preventing severe illness caused by the Omicron variant is between 80% and 85.9%.

Compared to the booster shot's 97% effectiveness in preventing severe illness from the Delta variant, the effectiveness against severe illness caused by the Omicron variant appears to be more than 10 percentage points lower. The study suggests that although the booster shot's effectiveness in preventing severe illness is lower for Omicron than for previous coronavirus variants, booster shots are still necessary to reduce hospitalizations.

The study focused on the antibody-inducing effect of the booster shot and did not reflect the impact on other immune cells such as T cells, which can respond to the coronavirus. The researchers added that there remains a high level of uncertainty until more real-world data on the rapidly spreading Omicron variant is collected.

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