Omicron Variant May Help Beat Delta, Study Suggests

Independent scientists said that the results of the South African experiment, though preliminary, were sound. Carl Pearson, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine, said the findings were consistent with what is now happening in England.

“Omicron arrives and grows rapidly, and the Delta trend switches to declining,” he said.

And Nathan Grubaugh, an epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health, said he was observing the same pattern in Connecticut. “We are seeing Omicron exponentially rise while Delta cases are falling,” he said. “This suggests to me that Omicron is outcompeting Delta for susceptible individuals, leaving them less susceptible to Delta in the aftermath, and driving down Delta cases.”

When people began getting infected with the coronavirus two years ago, they produced antibodies and immune cells that could provide protection against it. As a result, it was very rare for a person to be reinfected in the months that followed.

But starting in late 2020, new coronavirus variants emerged. Some of them, like Alpha, had mutations enabling them to spread rapidly. Others, like Beta, had adaptations that allowed them to evade antibodies — whether they were produced during a prior infection or in response to a Covid-19 vaccine.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/28/health/covid-omicron-antibodies-delta.html