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>> shannon: about 30,000 different people but they track there, preprint, knock on the peer review yet, but it talks about the increased risk of infection with the new variant. it's as we find evidence for an increased risk of an infection by the beta, gamma, or delta variant compared to the alpha variant after at the vaccination. then they said in contrast the vaccine-induced immunity no increased risk for reinfection with beta, gamma, or delta variance relevant to alpha variant individuals with infection induced immunity. so prior infection. here is something that dr. fauci said tonight on the issue of natural immunity. >> if you are infected with sars-cov-2 and you are covered, then you are going to have a significant degree of protection. >> a lot of folks think that natural immunity has not been an alpha discussion here but it sounds like we are getting around to that being a part of the whole puzzle. >> you know, i'm so glad you brought that up because i saw
with beta and gamma, but when they were around they challenging the vaccine protection. you did not often get protected by the vaccines. yesterday vermont reported the highest number of hospitalizations in the entire pandemic and they're the most vaccinated state right now. it made up a high enough number still that it caused a serious problem. that will be amplified with the new variant. we just need people to be vaccinated. we don't need more information to know that that can have a major impact on delta and omicron. >> i have long been a believer that hospitalizations are a more relative statistic. a case can mean so many different things. quickly on this before we go,
previous studies of vaccines that were done in south africa and south america earlier this year where there was at that time the beta and gamma variants circulating, these were two that had the same types of mutations that we now see on this new variant. and in both of those instances, vaccine protection was reduced substantially in terms of infection. but at the same time, it showed that you could reduce substantially the number of people who got seriously ill or hospitalized and die. so even using the current vaccines, if you are fully vaccinated, you are standing a much better chance of not having a severe infection with this new variant. >> and what is the developmental process for tuning up these vaccines if you can get adequate information about this new variant and go into the lab? can you retool these vaccines to aim it at that new variant?
how does that immunity that is developed from having had the infection match up against omicron versus, let's say, the delta variant or gamma or mu? >> so, we don't know that -- the answer to that specific question yet, but what we do know is that the -- the original premise for that supposition is just wrong. it simply isn't true that immunity conferred by infection is in general better than immunity conferred by vaccination. what we doe know is that immunity that's conferred by prior infection is very variable. some people have great immunity. some people have little or no immunity at all. in fact, one thing we do know is people who have been infected, if they also get vaccinated, they get incredibly high levels of immunity. what the -- what i would call a gold standard in terms of immunity to coronavirus at present. so, those that have been infected, i would absolutely get
theories. the world health organization naming the new covid variant omicron last week the south african government warned that the world should be aware of this variant. it was first detected there earlier this month. of course, this is far from the first variant we have seen emerge. and, quite honestly, it is not unexpected. this is what viruses do. they mutate. we have already cycled through the alpha variant that came out of the united kingdom late last year. beta first detected in south africa, gamma emerging from brazil. and of course delta first documented in india which has become the dominant strain worldwide. now, we do not know yet how much omicron could be dangerous. the south african doctor who first raised the alarm described the symptoms she seen, as, quote, extremely mild. but it does seem to be more transmissible than previous strains, according to south african scientists. now, many countries are instituting new travel ban as mid-these concerns.
its impact on the effectiveness of vaccines. our medical editor fergus walsh has more. afteralpha, beta, gamma, delta comes omicron, which scientists think could be the worst variant yet. so, is omicron more transmissible? it appears to be driving a rise in infections in south africa, but it's too early to be certain what's happening as cases only started increasing ten days ago from a very low level. the world health organization said omicron shows why the world needs a new global agreement on how to prevent, prepare and respond to pandemics. we should all be wide awake to the threat of this virus. but omicron�*s very emergence is another reminder that, although many of us might think we are done with covid—i9, it's not done with us. another key unknown
translation: we will ban all entries of foreign - nationals from all over- the world as of november 30. there's no doubt that the world has reacted quicker than it did when the delta variant emerged in india earlier this year. g7 ministers have met online and agreed to share information from their surveillance systems, but the fact remains that large parts of the world do not have the technology they need to track this variant. naomi grimley, bbc news. scientists are now in a race to establish whether the new variant is more transmissible than the current delta variant and whether it causes more severe disease. they'll also be assessing its impact on the effectiveness of vaccines. our medical editor fergus walsh has more. afteralpha, beta, gamma, delta comes omicron, which scientists think could be the worst variant yet.
is doing something similar. translation: we will ban all entries of foreign - nationals from all over- the world as of november 30. there's no doubt that the world has reacted quicker than it did when the delta variant emerged in india earlier this year. g7 ministers have met online and agreed to share information from their surveillance systems, but the fact remains that large parts of the world do not have the technology they need to track this variant. naomi grimley, bbc news. scientists are now in a race to establish whether the new variant is more transmissible than the current delta variant and whether it causes more severe disease. they'll also be assessing its impact on the effectiveness of vaccines. our medical editor, fergus walsh, has more. afteralpha, beta, gamma, delta comes omicron, which scientists think could be
protection from the vaccines that have already been given out and have been administered to about 70% of americans. because it is sufficiently different in terms of its spelling of it spike protein. well that spike protein no longer will be recognized by your antibodies. i brought along my little show-and-tell here. remember this virus? and those things sticking out there, those spike proteins, are what the vaccine is designed to get your immune system to recognize. and your immune system is very good at that. especially that of a booster. the concern would be the spike shape shifted just enough in omicron that no longer, with the vaccine antibodies, be sufficient to recognize it. now, before anybody gets to worried about that. let me say, in every other instance, with other variants, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, the vaccines are working really well. and especially people who get a booster,. there is something about that that both boost the level of antibodies but also the breath
fergus walsh has more. afteralpha, beta, gamma, delta comes omicron, which scientists think could be the worst variant yet. so, is omicron more transmissible? it appears to be driving a rise in infections in south africa, but it's too early to be certain what's happening as cases only started increasing ten days ago from a very low level. the world health organization said omicron shows why the world needs a new global agreement on how to prevent, prepare and respond to pandemics. we should all be wide awake to the threat of this virus. but omicron�*s very emergence is another reminder that, although many of us might think we are done with covid—i9, it's not done with us.