sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Neutralising antibody activity against SARS-CoV-2 VOCs B.1.617.2 and B.1.351 by BNT162b2 vaccination
Published:June 03, 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01290-3
snip
These data, together with epidemiological data of B.1.617.2 growth, raise the possibility that this VOC presents a dual challenge of reduced vaccine efficacy akin to the B.1.351 VOC, and increased transmissibility beyond the B.1.1.7 VOC. The impact of such a change is challenging to predict: it remains difficult to assess precisely to what extent the reduction in NAbTs we observe will impact vaccine efficacy and increase disease severity in a vaccinated population, especially given the multiple factors that contribute to this process, such as long-lived humoral immunity.
[SUP]3[/SUP]
snip
In the case of single-dose recipients, our data show that NAbTs are significantly lower against B.1.617.2 and B.1.351 VOCs relative to B.1.1.7, implying that although a single dose might still afford considerably more protection than no vaccination, single-dose recipients are likely to be less protected against these SARS-CoV-2 variants.
These data therefore suggest that the benefits of delaying the second dose, in terms of wider population coverage and increased individual NAbTs after the second dose,
[SUP]7 [/SUP]must now be weighed against decreased efficacy in the short-term, in the context of the spread of B.1.617.2. Worldwide, our data highlight the ongoing need to increase vaccine supply to allow all countries to extend second-dose protection as quickly as possible.
In the longer term, we note that both increased age and time since the second dose of BNT162b2 significantly correlate with decreased NAb activity against B.1.617.2 and B.1.351—both of which are also characteristic of the population in the UK at highest risk of severe COVID-19 (ie, older and vaccinated earlier), independent of other existing factors such as compromised immune status or comorbidity, or geographic-specific responses to vaccination.
Consequently, further booster immunisations of JCVI Priority Groups in the UK and similar groups in other counties, as well as others with lower vaccine-induced NAbTs than the cohort of BNT162b2 recipients studied here (ideally with modified vaccines that induce NAbs that broadly neutralise emerging VOCs) are more likely to be required to maintain the highest levels of NAbs in regions where B.1.617.2 or other equally NAb-resistant strains become prevalent.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...290-3/fulltext
Published:June 03, 2021
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01290-3
snip
These data, together with epidemiological data of B.1.617.2 growth, raise the possibility that this VOC presents a dual challenge of reduced vaccine efficacy akin to the B.1.351 VOC, and increased transmissibility beyond the B.1.1.7 VOC. The impact of such a change is challenging to predict: it remains difficult to assess precisely to what extent the reduction in NAbTs we observe will impact vaccine efficacy and increase disease severity in a vaccinated population, especially given the multiple factors that contribute to this process, such as long-lived humoral immunity.
[SUP]3[/SUP]
snip
In the case of single-dose recipients, our data show that NAbTs are significantly lower against B.1.617.2 and B.1.351 VOCs relative to B.1.1.7, implying that although a single dose might still afford considerably more protection than no vaccination, single-dose recipients are likely to be less protected against these SARS-CoV-2 variants.
These data therefore suggest that the benefits of delaying the second dose, in terms of wider population coverage and increased individual NAbTs after the second dose,
[SUP]7 [/SUP]must now be weighed against decreased efficacy in the short-term, in the context of the spread of B.1.617.2. Worldwide, our data highlight the ongoing need to increase vaccine supply to allow all countries to extend second-dose protection as quickly as possible.
In the longer term, we note that both increased age and time since the second dose of BNT162b2 significantly correlate with decreased NAb activity against B.1.617.2 and B.1.351—both of which are also characteristic of the population in the UK at highest risk of severe COVID-19 (ie, older and vaccinated earlier), independent of other existing factors such as compromised immune status or comorbidity, or geographic-specific responses to vaccination.
Consequently, further booster immunisations of JCVI Priority Groups in the UK and similar groups in other counties, as well as others with lower vaccine-induced NAbTs than the cohort of BNT162b2 recipients studied here (ideally with modified vaccines that induce NAbs that broadly neutralise emerging VOCs) are more likely to be required to maintain the highest levels of NAbs in regions where B.1.617.2 or other equally NAb-resistant strains become prevalent.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...290-3/fulltext