[HTML][HTML] COVID-19 mRNA vaccine induced antibody responses against three SARS-CoV-2 variants

P Jalkanen, P Kolehmainen, HK Häkkinen… - Nature …, 2021 - nature.com
P Jalkanen, P Kolehmainen, HK Häkkinen, M Huttunen, PA Tähtinen, R Lundberg…
Nature communications, 2021nature.com
As SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating for over a year, dozens of vaccine candidates are
under development or in clinical use. The BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine induces
spike protein-specific neutralizing antibodies associated with protective immunity. The
emergence of the B. 1.1. 7 and B. 1.351 variants has raised concerns of reduced vaccine
efficacy and increased re-infection rates. Here we show, that after the second dose, the sera
of BNT162b2-vaccinated health care workers (n= 180) effectively neutralize the SARS-CoV …
Abstract
As SARS-CoV-2 has been circulating for over a year, dozens of vaccine candidates are under development or in clinical use. The BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine induces spike protein-specific neutralizing antibodies associated with protective immunity. The emergence of the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants has raised concerns of reduced vaccine efficacy and increased re-infection rates. Here we show, that after the second dose, the sera of BNT162b2-vaccinated health care workers (n = 180) effectively neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 variant with the D614G substitution and the B.1.1.7 variant, whereas the neutralization of the B.1.351 variant is five-fold reduced. Despite the reduction, 92% of the seronegative vaccinees have a neutralization titre of >20 for the B.1.351 variant indicating some protection. The vaccinees’ neutralization titres exceeded those of recovered non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Our work provides evidence that the second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine induces cross-neutralization of at least some of the circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.
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