What will happen to me if I take the booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine despite having been infected with omicron?

Hi,

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The false-negative rapid antigen test (RAT) result could be due to the following reasons:

1. Stage of infection- The amount of antigen in the swab sample may decrease over the duration of the infection.
2. The test may be negative before the development of symptoms.
3. Procedural - The test was not performed as per standardized instructions.

RAT positive results must be confirmed by RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) test, for better specificity related to positivity. It is not uncommon to have false-negative results with RAT.

False-positive RAT test: Similarly, it is better to confirm RAT positivity by RT-PCR in the same individual. The overall rate of false-positive RAT results among the total rapid antigen test screens for SARS-CoV-2 is usually very low, and should be considered positive unless there are reasons below to say otherwise. RAT positivity can be varying from center to center, usually caused by manufacturing issues with the test or timing of test conduct or faulty test analysis or cross-contamination with other samples during testing procedures. A parameter called positive predictive value (PPV) varies with the prevalence of the disease and is the percent of positive test results that are true positives. As disease prevalence decreases, the percent of test results that are false positives increases. The physician needs to consider a RAT positive result, in combination with the clinical situation of patients including clinical history, and epidemiological information.

Efficacy against Omicron: The available vaccines were developed with an alpha strain of SARS COV-2 but the later developed vaccines have been found effective in clinical trials in healthy volunteers in the prophylaxis of severe COVID-19 primarily involving delta strains.

Two shots of mRNA vaccines or single-dose vaccines have been observed to be less effective against the Omicron variant, especially for infection. The mRNA vaccines offer the most promising protection against both infection and hospitalization, about 30 to 40 percent protection against infection and around 70% protection against hospitalization without boosters.

A study with COVISHIELD, COVAXIN by a government agency indicates that people with vaccination, as well as with prior infection, had significantly reduced capability to neutralize the Omicron variant compared to the original variant; but reduced neutralizing capacity does not directly translate to reduce efficacy to prevent infection and reduce hospitalizations. Even in Omicron- variant, these vaccines might potentially reduce the hospitalizations by about 80-90%.

Hence if you take these Indian vaccines primary two and precaution doses, you continue to get protected.

Hi,

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I would suggest taking an RT-PCR (real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction); if found positive, I suggest isolating and getting treated by a qualified physician from a COVID-19 center, as per COVID-19 protocol. After testing negative with RT- PCR, after mandatory treatment and/or quarantine, wait for about three months for booster / precautionary dosage.

I hope this clarifies your query.