A recent Danish study has revealed that the "Omicron" variant of the new coronavirus is more adept than the "Delta" variant at evading the immunity of vaccinated individuals, helping to explain the rapid transmission of the infection in recent times. Since the discovery of Omicron last November, scientists have been racing against time to determine whether it causes milder illness, noting that it is more transmissible than the prior dominant variant, Delta.
Various factors contribute to the virus's ability to spread more than others, including the duration it remains airborne, its ability to attach to cells, and its evasion of the human immune system. The study, which included nearly 12,000 households in Denmark in mid-December, found that Omicron is 2.7 to 3.7 times more infectious than the Delta variant among vaccinated Danes.
The research conducted by scholars at the Copenhagen University Statistics Institute indicates that Omicron spreads faster primarily because it is better at evading vaccine-acquired immunity. Health data reveals that 78% of Danes are fully vaccinated, while nearly 48% have received a third booster dose. The study also found that those who received a third booster shot are less likely to transmit the infection to others compared to the unvaccinated, regardless of the virus variant.
