Vaccine . Permissive omicron breakthrough infections in individuals with binding or neutralizing antibodies to ancestral SARS-CoV-2

[tetano]

Vaccine


. 2022 Aug 30;S0264-410X(22)01048-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.08.058. Online ahead of print.
Permissive omicron breakthrough infections in individuals with binding or neutralizing antibodies to ancestral SARS-CoV-2


Erin Williams ¹ , Jordan Colson ² , Ranjini Valiathan ² , Juan Manuel Carreño ³ , Florian Krammer ⁴ , Michael Hoffer ⁵ , Suresh Pallikkuth ⁶ , Savita Pahwa ⁷ , David Andrews ⁸



Affiliations

• PMID: 36088193
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.08.058

Abstract

Background: Breakthrough infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has occurred in populations with high vaccination rates.
Methods: In a longitudinal cohort study, pre-breakthrough infection sera for Omicron breakthroughs (n = 12) were analyzed. Assays utilized include a laboratory-developed solid phase binding assay to recombinant spike protein, a commercial assay to the S1 domain of the spike protein calibrated to the World Health Organization (WHO) standard, and a commercial solid-phase surrogate neutralizing activity (SNA) assay. All assays employed spike protein preparations based on sequences from the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain.
Results: Pre-breakthrough binding antibody titers ranged from 1:800 to 1:51,200 for the laboratory-developed binding assay, which correlated well and agreed quantitatively with the commercial spike S1 domain WHO calibrated assay. SNA was detected in 10/12 (83%) samples.
Conclusions: Neither high binding titers nor SNA were markers of protection from Omicron infection/re-infection.

Keywords: Binding antibodies; Breakthrough; Neutralizing antibodies; Omicron; SARS-CoV-2.