He also said by infecting more people, a very infectious virus may cause more severe disease and death, even if the virus itself is less pathogenic. Considering earlier findings that Omicron can partially escape immunity from vaccination and past infection, the overall threat will likely be significant, Chan Chi-wai said.

Vaccines leave Omicron antibody gap

In another research development, a separate team from HKU reported yesterday in a preprint study that people who received two doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or China’s Coronavac vaccine produce enough antibodies against Omicron.

Source: Lung tissue study sheds light on fast Omicron spread | CIDRAP