Omicron: T-cell protection against variant lasts for months

Since the beginning of 2020, the main topic in the world has been Covid-19. And our fight against the virus that caused the worst pandemic in recent times has recently gained a new chapter: the Omicron variant.

Recent studies indicate that T cells have a greater ability to recognize the Omicron variant protein. 

Want to know more and stay up to date on the topic? Just keep reading!

In today's content, you will better understand what T cells are and their importance in protecting against Omicron.

What is the Omicron variant?

First detected in November in Botswana and South Africa, Omicron – or B.1.529 – is one of several variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that started the global Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. The new variant was reported to the World Health Organization on November 24.

Classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a variant of concern. And, although studies indicate that the new strain of the virus is even more transmissible than previous variants – such as the Delta variant, for example – the symptoms were considered subtly milder than the other variants.

What are the dangers of the Omicron variant?

Although, in general, the symptoms caused by Omicron are slightly less intense than some previous variants, the variant should not be considered less dangerous to the point of causing the relaxation of measures to combat Covid-19.

Like other strains, Omicron has also claimed lives around the world. And most of the victims are non-patients who chose not to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

And, in addition to being more infectious than previous strains, Omicron can also infect people with prior immunity, evading neutralizing antibodies. 

As mentioned above, due to its high transmission power, Omicron did not take long to spread to the rest of the world after its discovery. The transmission rate of the variant is so high that it is currently believed to be the dominant variant worldwide. 

Therefore, Omicron can easily be defined as a new wave of Covid-19. And Brazil was one of the countries that was hit by this wave.

The Omicron variant in Brazil 

After its discovery in South Africa in November, it did not take long for the new variant to reach our country.

The first cases of Covid-19 caused by the new variant were detected in early December. Since then, with the arrival of events such as the typical end-of-year festivities and holiday trips, the care regarding the use of masks and crowds ended up being somewhat left aside.

And these actions helped the new variant to spread even more easily among the entire population, causing a rise in cases of infection by the disease.

According to a survey carried out by the online platform Our World in Data – a reference platform for publishing data on the pandemic and linked to the University of Oxford – at the beginning of January the Omicron variant was already identified as the dominant variant in the country, being responsible for more than half – around 58,33% – of the Covid-19 cases that were sequenced in the country.

The good news is that, despite the increase in new cases, the vast majority of the population has already been vaccinated with the 1st and 2nd doses of the vaccine and are now awaiting the application of the 3rd dose.

This helped to control the progression of the disease, meaning that the number of serious cases and deaths was much lower compared to the same period in 2021, before the vaccination campaign began across the country.

What are T cells?

Memory T cells – or T lymphocytes – are one of the main cells responsible for defense against unknown antigens. They are formed by our body shortly after infection with Covid-19 or after vaccination using messenger RNA technology – or mRNA – and, according to the most recent studies, they had a response against the Omicron variant.

In general, studies indicate that memory T cells from patients who have already been vaccinated or who have already had Covid-19 are better able to recognize the Omicron variant protein.

Understand better the studies of Omicron and T cells

The new studies – which point to this discovery about T cells – were carried out by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

The study – which is part of the research – is a collaboration with Karolinska University Hospital. To carry out this study, blood samples from three different patient profiles were used. They are:

40 people who have already been vaccinated against Covid-19;

48 people who have already had a mild, moderate or severe infection caused by Sars-CoV-2;

48 people who have not yet been vaccinated and have not been infected by the virus.

Within these three groups, samples from vaccinated individuals were collected 6 months after the administration of the second dose of the vaccine. In the second group, the sample was collected 9 months after confirmation of infection by the virus.

Through the results obtained, it was possible to observe that these memory T cells in these two groups presented a good ability to recognize the Omicron variant protein.

The next step is to understand whether the application of the 3rd dose of the vaccine will help to further increase the T cell recognition capacity against Omicron. 

Conclusion

This recent discovery about Omicron only serves to reinforce the importance of vaccination and how necessary it is to follow the vaccination schedule, getting immunized with the doses recommended by the WHO and health organizations around the world.

This way, the effects of Omicron – and other variants – are more likely to be minimized – or even neutralized. With the complete vaccination schedule, the chances of a patient with Covid-19 progressing to severe cases and death are significantly reduced.

And, in addition to protecting yourself, by getting vaccinated you also help everyone around you!

Did you like this content? Then take advantage and read also: 10 Fascinating Facts About the Human Body.