Elevated antibodies to COVID-19 vaccine are less effective against coronavirus variants: Study

According to a new study, antibodies induced by some COVID-19 vaccines are less effective in neutralizing new circulating variants of the new coronavirus, such as those reported in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.

The study was published in the journal Cell and noted that neutralizing antibodies induced by Pfizer and Moderna COVID 19 vaccines were less effective against coronavirus variants first found in South Africa and Brazil.

According to scientists, neutralizing antibodies work by binding to the virus and blocking it from entering cells and thus preventing infection. That being said, this binding only happens when antibodies and viruses match perfectly, like a key in a lock.

If the shape of the virus changes when the antibody attaches to it, the antibody may no longer be able to recognize and neutralize the virus.

The scientists compared how well the antibodies against the original strain worked against the new variants.

When scientists tested the new strains against vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies, they found that the three new strains first described in South Africa were 20-40 times more resistant to neutralization.

The two strains first described in Brazil and Japan were five to seven times more resistant than the original offspring of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wuhan, China.

“In particular, we found that mutations in a specific part of the spike protein called the receptor binding domain were more likely to help the virus resist neutralizing antibodies,” said one study author.

However, the ability of these variants to resist neutralizing antibodies does not mean that vaccines will not be effective.

“The body has other methods of immune protection besides antibodies. Our findings do not necessarily mean that vaccines will not prevent COVID, but only that the portion of the antibody in the immune response may have problems recognizing some of these new variants,” said science.

To develop the next generation, it is important to understand which mutations are most likely to allow the virus to evade vaccine-derived immunity.

The study may also help researchers develop more effective preventive methods, such as a broad protective vaccine that works against a wide variety of variants, regardless of the number of mutations that develop.