Two and a half months after the third vaccination, the effect 'dropped'... Need a vaccine for Omicron?

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[Cho Dong-chan / Medical reporter (specialist): There was a US study that showed that the neutralizing antibody that blocks Omicron increases up to 37 times if you get the vaccine 3 times. Our quarantine authorities also said that we should get the 3rd inoculation as soon as possible in preparation for Omicron. Let's see the screen.]

[Park Young-Jun/Vaccine Team Leader Bang Dae-Bon (last month 20): In the case of Omicron, it is reported that the infection prevention effect rises to 80% when the third dose is given.]

[Cho Dong-chan/Medical Reporter (Specialist): However, the effect of the 3rd dose dropped to about 40% after two and a half months. A British research team already announced last month that a separate vaccine is needed to block Omicron. In order to block Omicron with the existing vaccine, you have to get it every two months, and the effect of the fourth inoculation has not yet been verified even for a short-term effect. This is why there is talk of a separate vaccine for Omicron.]

[Cho Dong-chan / Medical reporter (specialist): It doesn't seem like it will be easy. Can we see the screen? Even if a pharmaceutical company quickly makes a vaccine for Omicron, to see if it really has an effect on Omicron, even if you skip phase 1 or 2, you have to do phase 3. Then it will take at least 6 months.]

[Cho Dong-chan/Medical Reporter (specialist): There are three types of flu injections and there are also four.

3 is blocking 3 types, 4 is blocking 4 types.

While making a vaccine for Omicron, it is not difficult to make it possible to prevent the existing epidemic.

The problem is that we do not know what the COVID-19 situation will be like in half a year.

There may be a new drug that works well with Omicron, and on the contrary, new mutations may appear again, so it is unclear whether the Omicron vaccine will be a solution.]

[Cho Dong-chan/Medical Reporter (specialist): Omicron has a lower risk of seriousness than Delta, especially in young people.

If so, we should focus more on the elderly.

A study in the United States found that immunocompromised people, such as patients with blood cancer or organ transplants, did not develop sufficient immunity even after three doses of the vaccine.

The 4th and 5th will be the same.

For this reason, the National Cancer Society of America changed the guidelines to provide preventive treatment drugs before additional vaccination for those with weakened immunity, such as blood cancer.

We also need to take note.]