Of Omicron and booster shots

So many vexing questions arise with the latest wave of infections even in highly vaccinated countries.

I CONSIDER myself a good and responsible citizen. I heeded what my government and the experts said about Covid-19 and dutifully stayed home, observed all the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and, yes, got vaccinated.

I’ve done my part as have billions of people. So why are we nowhere near defeating this vicious little virus almost two years on?

We were told we must follow the science, but why do I feel we have been led up the garden path instead?

Despite all efforts by governments, such as lockdowns, legislating punishments for SOP violations and, of course, mass vaccination, we haven’t tamed Covid-19.

As of Dec 13, 2021, Malaysia recorded 2,695,143 cases and 30,879 deaths. Worldwide, there were 270 million cases and 5.31 million deaths. Compare that with 106,000 cases and 455 deaths just a year ago, with the global count at 80 million cases and 1.8 million deaths.

For months, the enemy was the Delta variant, but now it looks like the cunning coronavirus has figured out how to get around the vaccines and mutated into the Omicron strain, which is putting governments in a state of helter-skelter.

There is a TikTok compilation of quotes from US President Joe Biden, his chief medical adviser Dr Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Rochelle Walensky urging people to get vaccinated because it would stop the transmission of the virus, it would prevent you from catching it, you won’t fall sick and get hospitalised and die, and you would be able to do indoor and outdoor activities without a mask.

Walensky said in an MSNBC interview in March that all the above was based on CDC data from clinical trials and real-world data. So sure, that seemed like good science to follow.

All that, however, is overturned in the same video quoting the same people who have since backtracked on what they said earlier. That hated mask stays, too.

Most disappointingly, countries which achieved really high vaccination rates, like Gibraltar and Israel, have suddenly seen a surge in new infections, which has been dubbed the fourth (or is it the fifth?) wave of the pandemic.

The news from Gibraltar was particularly upsetting because it is the most vaccinated place in the world with 99% of the population having taken two doses and a good portion getting a third or booster shot.

But that hasn’t stopped governments across the globe from urging vaccinated people to get their booster shots. Why? Because they (the experts lah!) now say the vaccines didn’t quite achieve what they promised because of waning antibodies and breakthrough infections caused by the more contagious Delta variant. The vaccines were formulated for the earlier Alpha variant, you see.

Sadly, my faith in these experts has also waned during the course of the pandemic. I have lost count of how once trusted and respected institutions like the World Health Organisation, CDC and the US Federal Drug Administration have flip-flopped on their advice and SOPs.

Despite misgivings, the vast majority of us have done as told, but we are deeply disappointed and confused by the vaccine “yes, no, maybe” twists and turns.

The message we are being hammered with now is a booster is needed to ramp up the antibodies as they wane over time.

But experts like molecular biologist Dr Aditi Bhargava, director of laboratory research at UCSF that develops mRNA technology, University of Arizona immunologist Deepta Bhattacharya, and Rockefeller University immunologist Gabriel Victora say antibodies are supposed to peter out.

Katherine J. Wu in her article, “The Good Part About ‘Waning’ Immunity”, in theatlantic.com, quotes Victora as saying what is seen as a “loss in antibodies is actually the slow waning of the less-good, short-lived response.”

“And when antibodies are needed – say, when the actual virus infects us – veteran B cells will produce them again, in gargantuan quantities. Antibodies themselves don’t always linger. But the capacity to create them usually does,” writes Wu.

If that is the case, why the panic and urgency to jab us again? Granted, older folk like me might benefit from a booster shot as an ageing immune system is not so efficient in honing better antibodies.

But really what science are we following? Even the time frame is a head-scratcher. For mRNA vaccines like Pfizer, the going rate for a booster is six months.

For Sinovac, which is my vaccine, it was reported that it significantly wanes after three months. So when the Selangor government offered free booster shots last week, I quickly signed up.

But on Friday, reports quoting a study published in The Lancet said antibody levels in people who received a third dose of Sinovac eight months after their second dose rose more than twice as much as people who got a booster shot within two months of their second dose. Aiyoh!

So what should we confounded and nonplussed ordinary folk do? Do I keep my booster appointment or cancel it?

Should I even bother with the shot since the experts are still unsure how effective the current lot of vaccines are with Omicron, which is predicted to spread over the world like wildfire in a matter of weeks?

If I get my booster as scheduled, will I have to go for yet another one three months down the line? Are we going to feel like we have become human pincushions just so we can use up all the vaccines we bought that are maybe close to their expiry dates?

What is also noteworthy is the Omicron data coming out from South Africa, the first country to spot and report the strain, strongly indicates Covid-19 symptoms caused by this variant are far milder than the first three waves.

Only 10% of the hospitalised Omicron-infected patients required oxygen therapy. In comparison, 100% of Covid-19 patients admitted during the first three waves required some form of oxygen therapy.

Some experts think Omicron may be just the strain to end the pandemic, as it may have evolved into a less pathogenic form that won’t kill off its hosts and live with us like the good old flu. That’s what is known as endemic, I believe.

It’s time to reevaluate how we have been tackling SARs-CoV-2. Perhaps we have been too obsessed with vaccines, thinking they are the only way to end the pandemic.

Vaccine mandates that some countries are resorting to may not help at all. Rather, such measures will lead to more opposition and anger. As this FB post puts it: “I have never seen a vaccine threaten someone’s livelihood, as well as wipe out jobs. I have never seen a vaccine like this one that discriminates, divides, and judges a society.”

Apart from vaccinations, more attention and funding could be given to develop better treatments and therapeutics for the small percentage of people who actually land in ICUs with severe Covid-19.

Since people with comorbidities, like obesity and diabetes, are most at risk of hospitalisation and death, governments can also surely incentivize them to get healthier and improve their immune systems with subsidized supplements like zinc, Vitamins C, D and K2.

Make no mistake. I am not an anti-vaxxer but I sure am vexed over this Covid-19 conundrum. Did I say science seems to be leading us up the garden path? It sure feels more and more like we are lost in a maze with lots of dead ends.

The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.