London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 27, 2026

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partly funded an Omicron variant study with a surprising conclusion about boosters

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partly funded an Omicron variant study with a surprising conclusion about boosters

The latest Omicron subvariant may be a master at evading the immune response our bodies produce from the vaccine or previous COVID-19 infection, but a new study suggests existing booster shots will still help.
Getting a booster can generate enough of an antibody response and protection from severe disease outcomes to hold up against any of the new Omicron subvariants, according to an early release paper published this week in Science. That extends to BA.5, now the most prevalent COVID strain in the U.S. and a driver of COVID-19 reinfections across the country.

The finding comes as the Biden administration considers whether to expand access to a second booster shot to all adults because of concerns that subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 will further push up cases and hospitalizations. Since March, anyone 50 and older or immunocompromised and at least 12 years old has been eligible for a second booster, per CDC recommendations.

Led by the University of Washington School of Medicine’s Veesler Lab, the research team started a few months ago by just looking at the previously dominant BA.1, BA.2, and BA.2.12.1 subvariants, then later adding in BA.4 and BA.5. It assessed the properties of these subvariants and evaluated how a panel of seven vaccines already available in the U.S. and around the globe would protect against them.

BA.5 is a relatively new Omicron subvariant but “probably the most important one now in the study as it’s about to become globally dominant,” according to John Bowen, one of the paper’s lead authors and a biochemist at the Veesler Lab.

The BA.5 strain has been touted as the most contagious one yet, so much so that vaccinated people have reported catching it even after a recent bout of COVID-19. The first part of the study sheds light on why that is; BA.5 can outcompete other subvariants because its spike protein binds to the host receptor more than six times better than the original strain that first circulated in 2019.

The researchers ultimately determined that BA.5 will be the most immune-evasive COVID-19 variant to date, but that doesn’t mean our previous boosters can no longer restore protection.

“We were able to look at essentially every single prominent vaccine platform in the world side by side and see that despite the scariness of this variant, all of these vaccine platforms are going to elicit solid immune responses,” Bowen told Fortune.

Because of BA.5’s reputation, the findings initially caught the researcher by surprise.

“When I was seeing the data after the third shot, I had to repeat it over and over again because I was just like, ‘Why am I not seeing that this is as immune evasive as other people have said?’” Bowen recounted. “We were very excited to see that even though it’s more immune evasive than the other ones we tested, previous methods are still going to protect against it.”

The research effort was an international collaboration between infectious disease research physicians and scientists from UW Medicine, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, and institutes in California, Argentina, Italy, Pakistan, and Switzerland. It received funding from a plethora of sources, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The Food and Drug Administration has advised vaccine makers to update their booster shots to target the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants. While people wait for those, though, Bowen said the research indicates that vaccines designed for a strain from a few years ago still work.

“We totally agree it’s very important to continue trying to find better ways to make protective vaccines,” he said. “It’s going to take some time to get those. If people need vaccines, we know that current boosting methods are going to be protective.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Education or Indoctrination? The Growing Debate Over Religious Participation in British Schools
Germany's Vanishing Shopfronts: The Silent Collapse of the Businesses That Built Its Cities
Northern Ireland Executive Reaches Agreement on Public Transport Modernization and Cross-Border Rail Infrastructure Funding
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Approves New North Sea Carbon Capture and Storage Industrial Clusters
Office for National Statistics Reports Stabilization in Private Rental Growth Across Major English and Welsh Regional Cities
United Kingdom Automotive Manufacturing Output Rises Moderately as Electric Vehicle Assembly Lines Expand in the Midlands
Competition and Markets Authority Launches Formal Inquiry Into Cloud Computing Infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence Partnerships
Scottish Government Finalizes Emergency Budget Adjustments Following Multi-Year Public Sector Funding Shortfalls
National Health Service England Announces Major Emergency Care Overhaul to Alleviate Severe Winter Capacity Pressures
Chancellor Rachel Reeves Prepares Autumn Budget Amid Intensifying Scrutiny Over Public Spending and Fiscal Rules
Bank of England Signals Cautious Approach to Further Interest Rate Cuts as Persistent Wage Growth and Inflation Pressures Remain
Transport for London Unveils Expanded Zero-Emission Bus Fleet to Meet Capital Air Quality Targets
Higher Education Institutions Face Deepening Financial Strain Amid Declining International Student Enrolment
Automotive Industry Leaders Criticize Government Tax Policies and Urge Action on Retail Consumer Confidence
Environment Agency Issues Flood Alerts Across Scottish and English Waterways Following Heavy Rainfall
Independent Audit Highlights Persistent Security Vulnerabilities Across Legacy Government Digital Portals
Northern Ireland Political Leaders Clash Over Westminster Funding Allocations Ahead of Autumn Budget
Ethnic Minorities in England Face Significant Disparities in Routine Breast Cancer Diagnosis Rates
National Police Chiefs Report Alarming Surge in Domestic Abuse Cases Fuelled by Expanding Illegal Cocaine Market
Government Announces Two Hundred and Twenty Million Pound Pothole Funding Boost for Local Highway Authorities
China Issues Formal Warning Over Potential United Kingdom Restrictions on Chinese Electric Vehicles
British Defence Ministers Sign E5 Pact to Enhance European Military Capabilities and Industrial Cooperation Within NATO
United Kingdom Business Activity Expands at Fastest Pace in Eight Months According to S&P Global Flash Survey
Chancellor John Healey Prepares Major Devolution Package and Bank Profit Surcharge Ahead of Upcoming Autumn Budget
National Health Service Consultants in England Announce Two-Day Strike Action Scheduled for November
Major Clean-Up Under Way Across Britain Following Destruction Caused by Consecutive Storms Austen and Boelo
KEY TRENDS TO WATCH
Declassified Intelligence Files Reveal British Security Services Monitored National Health Service Founder
British Government Launches Sweeping Regulatory Crackdown on High-Risk Cosmetic Procedures
Scottish National Party Demands Ban on Using Scottish Revenues to Fund English Nuclear Energy Projects
Mayor of London Initiates Landmark Pedestrianisation of Oxford Street to Revitalise Global Retail Hub
British Judges Granted Expanded Legal Powers to Punish Convicted Killers Who Refuse to Attend Sentencing
United Kingdom Poised to Miss Reduced International Aid Spending Targets Ahead of Fiscal Review
Surging Cocaine Consumption Drives Record Drug Fatalities and Rising Crime Rates Across Britain
Department of Health and Social Care Announces One Hundred and Forty Million Pound Boost for Urgent Care
British Services Sector Records Strongest Growth in Eight Months Despite Broader Economic Uncertainty
United Kingdom Retail Sales Suffer Unexpected Decline as Consumer Confidence Plummets
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham Urges National Debate on Restoring European Union Free Movement
Deep Cabinet Divisions Emerge Over Controversial Approval of North Sea Fossil Fuel Projects
United Kingdom Government Urges Citizens to Stockpile Essential Supplies in National Resilience Pivot
Storm Boelo Kills Two People and Cuts Power to Tens of Thousands Across Great Britain
Critical Software Flaw Forces Dozens of United Kingdom Government Services Offline Amid Mass Security Warnings
UK Consumer Confidence Tumbles Amid Rising Energy Costs and Global Commodity Price Pressures
North Sea Transition Authority Approves Production from Jackdaw Gas Field to Bolster Domestic Energy Security
Storm Boelo Leaves Tens of Thousands of Households Without Power Across Scotland and Northern Ireland
UK Government Launches National Be Ready Campaign Urging Households to Prepare Three Days of Emergency Supplies
Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs Implements Stricter Water Quality Regulations for British Rivers
Welsh Government Launches Major Renewable Energy Initiative to Expand Offshore Wind Capacity Along the Coast
Northern Ireland Executive Reaches Final Agreement on Comprehensive Regional Infrastructure Modernization Plan
Office for National Statistics Reports Moderate Increase in British Retail Sales Driven by Autumn Discounts
×